


Monster

by XeonixRising



Category: Eddsworld
Genre: Blood and Gore, M/M, Monsters, Mpreg, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XeonixRising/pseuds/XeonixRising
Summary: Tom and Tords relationship evolves throughout a story of betrayal, friendship, secrets, lies and love.#monsterTom#redleader
Relationships: Tom/Tord (Eddsworld)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

A few hours after ordering Tom be brought to him, Tord decided it was probably time to check on his new weapon. Tom was now chained up somewhere in the   
Red Army quarters, in a dungeon underground, a soundproof room where no one could hear him scream. Tord smirked at that thought.

Wearing his red hoodie covered by a long blue coat, he walked into the windowless room with a clipboard in his hands and a smile on his face.   
"What a beautiful day!"   
he exclaimed contentedly looking down at Tom who was chained to the wall. The other man looked like he was still unconscious but the drugs   
should be wearing off soon enough. He wrote something down on the clipboard and then knelt next to Tom and poked him in the face.   
"Wake up Thomas. No sleeping on the job."

Tom came to, at first forgetting where he was and then heard Tord's voice. "Oh go fuck yourself." Tom tried to break the chains.

Tord just laughed. "But that's no fun. I have plenty of girls to do that for me." He stood up. "Well, now that you're awake, I guess you are wondering   
why you are here?"

"I don't think anyone would fuck you if their life depended on it. And let's face it, you aren't into girls." Tom smirked at the last part.

"Ouch." Tord put a hand over his heart as if the statement hurt." Thomas that was really hurtful." He feigned sadness. "Oh? How would you know? Maybe that's just what you are hoping for..." he smiled again.

"Yeah right, I wouldn't fuck you if you were the last person on Earth and why the hell am I even here?" He glared at the commie before him. 

Tord was very amused by Tom's anger. And excited by it. "Well, you have an ability that I need. That my army needs."   
He began to pace the room looking thoughtful. "Do you recall a few years ago when you turned into a monster and almost demolished the house? Well, did you ever wonder why you turned into that monster?"

Tom's eyes got a tad bit wider as he remembered. "Y-yes."

"Well, lets just say I slipped a little something into your Smirnoff a few days before that. I developed a serum that enables humans to turn into monsters. And who better to test it on, than you, my worst enemy?"

"No no no fuck...why? Tord why the fuck would you need a monster?" Tom struggled against his chains.

"Why else?" Tord spread his arms out. "To take over the world!" He laughed evilly. "And with you, my little Jehovah's witness, I am going to be unstoppable!"

Tom felt very strong anger boil up inside him. 

"I figure now is as good a time as any to test this out. You see, if you get juuust angry enough, it makes you turn. So let's see...what would   
make you angry...oh, I know!" He whirled around to face the other man and looked right into his eyes.

"I almost forgot to tell you! Edd and Matt are on their way here as well! They've already been given notice that if you refuse to be used for   
my army, they will be terminated. I figure a shot to the head each will do. Wouldn't want to waste too many supplies on fools like them." 

"THEY ARE YOUR FRIENDS YOU CAN’T JUST KILL THEM LIKE THAT!" Tom yelled. He was very close to switching.

Tord just shrugged, unfazed. He wouldn't allow his actual emotions to show. Truly he didn't want to kill his friends, but in this line   
of work you couldn't afford to have friends. They were just weaknesses. He probably wouldn’t kill them anyway. This was all just a way to get Tom to do as he wanted.   
"It's just part of the job, Tom. Nothing personal. Don't worry, it will be quick. Unless of course you make this easy and just agree to be used?"

Tom lowered his head and looked at the ground. "If you swear not to kill them nor let them die...I will let you use me."

Tord smiled. "I don't swear, Tom, that's not polite." He laughed at his own little joke. "I will use you alright." There was a malicious glint in his eye.   
He picked up the clipboard again and smacked Tom on the nose with it. "Look at me when I talk to you."

Tom already had a plan. Tord wasn't going to get away with threatening his friends. Tom switched into his monster form, thinking of all the   
ways Tord could hurt Edd and Matt. Before Tord could react, a huge monster stood before him. It was tall and heavy, its skin a deep purple hue. One large black eye stared  
down at the man before it, narrowing in anger. Tom broke the chains without warning and spoke to Tord, his voice sounding demonic. "No one hurts my friends."  
Tord just stared for a moment, almost falling backwards as Tom changed form, his mouth falling open in shock when Tom broke the chains. He had not expected this at all. He reached for his gun and realized it was on his desk across the room.

Shit. Could he get there on time? He wasn't sure. He lunged to the other side of the room.

Tom grabbed Tord midair, his own clothing ripping off from being too small for the monster Tom. He started to rip at the Red Leader's clothing, his sharp claws leaving deep scratches.   
He threw him against the wall, pulling him a  
way from it and then slamming him into it again. 

Tord yelled loudly, still scrambling to try and reach his gun.

"Tom s-stop!" He cringed as he was thrown against the wall and then instinctively curled into a ball when he was punched and kicked.

"Pathetic." Tom threw him across the room so he hit the other wall. 

Tord cried out, hitting the wall hard and clutched his head in pain. Bruises were already beginning to form on his body. He fought the dizzy feeling. 

"What-what do you think you're d-doing?" 

"Stopping you from destroying everyone I care about."

Tord froze momentarily, in shock and fear, unsure what to do. Tom stood between him and his gun. But he still had his radio...  
He slowly took it out of his pocket with trembling hands. "P-Paul, I need your assistance in here. Code 51...get backup quick, I-"  
Tom roared and swiped the radio out of Tord's hands. "By the time they get here there won't be anything to assist," he hissed.  
One hard punch, and it was lights out for Tord. He crumbled against the wall.


	2. Chapter Two

Paul and Pat, along with a group of 20 or so soldiers, burst into the room. Tom turned to them, raising his fist and baring his strong teeth. Paul shot a tranquilizer dart into Tom's chest. The monster looked confused for a second, then roared and charged at the soldiers. Several shot at him with their guns, the bullets lodging in various places in his body, but Tom's skin was like armor, the bullets barely went through. It only seemed to make him angrier. The only chance they had was to get to his eye-his eye was his only weakness. Remembering that Tord had disclosed this to him, Paul aimed for that eye with his tranquilizer dart- and hit it.   
Temporarily blinded and in searing pain, Tom roared in agony, grabbing at his injured eye. Instead of blood, sticky black goo fell like tears from the orb. Tom stumbled backwards, narrowly  
missing landing on top of the unconscious Norwegian. Instead he fell right on his back beside him with a large thump that shook the floor. His eye slowly closed.   
Tom awoke in a cell, in chains attached to the dungeon wall, now back in human form. The only non human remnants were 2 small purple horns and his purple tail. The tall Brit hissed feeling sharp pain in his eyes. Fuck that hurt. But at least he could see now.  
Paul approached Tom's cell carefully, glaring in at him. "Well good morning, sunshine," he said sarcastically, crossing his arms.   
"Who are you? Let me go!" Tom demanded.  
"My name is Paul, Im Red Leader's right hand man, and you’re not going anywhere."  
"He doesn’t have a right hand."  
Paul blinked. It took him a moment to figure out what Tom was referring to. Tom meant, of course, that Tord had lost his right arm in the robot explosion.  
"Oh very funny," Paul scoffed. "Now shut up. I don’t have time for games. You think you're so smart, disobeying our leader and nearly killing him. How dare you."  
"Are you crazy?" Tom yelped. "He kidnapped me! He threatened to kill my friends!"  
Paul seemed to ignore this information. He did not care to see anyone's side but his leader's.   
"You'll never see a day outside this cage," was all that he replied, and then he left the dungeon. Tom was forced to listen as his slowly footsteps faded on the cold stone floor.   
Then he was alone. But not for long. Within five minutes, three soldiers stormed his cell. Tom was in a standing position against the wall, in leg chains, with both wrists chained above his head so he could not move. He was naked except for a small cloth someone had tied around his waist.  
He was in no position to defend himself from what happened next. A fist smashed against his cheek, another into his gut. Tom tried to protect himself   
by curling up but there was little he could do. The onslaught of hits and kicks continued unabated, Tom cursing at and threatening the soldiers until one nasty punch hit his jaw, breaking out a tooth and   
spilling blood across the floor.   
The soldiers beat him until he was senseless, unable to move or think or feel anything but terror and pain. His face and body was bruised and blood poured from his mouth and nose. Tom's eyes were closed.   
One more punch to the head would finish him off.  
It was then that his saving grace appeared: Tord, of all people, walking in and staring at the scene before him. "Stop!" He commanded.  
Toms' eyes opened as he heard the familiar voice. "Leave him. Get out. I will take care of it."  
"But sir-" they protested.  
A loud torrent of Norwegian curses flew from the leader's mouth and the men understood well enough that it was time to get out of there.  
They left quickly, muttering apologies.   
Tom's eyes closed once more. He figured that now he would be killed. He wouldn’t give the commie the satisfaction of looking him in the eye as he did it.  
"Tom...christ...what did they do to you?" Tord gasped. Tom barely heard him.   
"Come to finish me off?" Tom grunted, spitting out blood.   
While Tord had been unconscious, he had dreamed that Tom and he were a couple. It had been a sweet dream, unlike the many nightmares that usually plagued his sleep.  
The dream had incorporated real memories of times they had spent together, before The End. That was what he called it now, The End. The end of Tord's old life and the beginning of Red Leader's reign.  
But the dream made him feel things for Tom that he hadn’t felt before, or maybe they were always there, but hidden all this time.   
"I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help but you have to let me."  
Tom wanted so badly to spit in Tord's face, to tell him he didn’t believe the lying, deceiving son of a bitch. But he barely even had the strength to speak.   
Tord used his handkerchief to carefully wipe blood from Tom's cheek. Tom flinched and a single tear rolled down his cheek. Tord suddenly felt guilty, but tried to hide it.  
"I will let you go and not harm your friends if you behave," he said.  
"Fuck off," Tom finally managed to grumble. He was fading in and out of consciousness.  
Tord sighed. He unchained Tom and put him over his shoulder. Tord was shorter than the other man, Tord being 5'6 and Tom being a good 5'10. Not to mention that Tom was basically dead weight right now.  
But Tord was also very strong, and Tom was thin, so he managed to carry him up the stairs of the dungeon and to his own quarters. Tom was now asleep and snoring lightly.   
Tord lay him in his bed. Tord's room was large and comfortable yet organized and clean. He had a king size bed with silky red sheets and a black comforter and pillows. The bed sat in the middle of the room,  
flanked by 2 bedside tables. To the right there was a large mahogany dresser with a mirror. To the left, there was a walk in closet and bathroom.   
Tord went to the bathroom and wet a washcloth and used it to wipe Tom's face gently. As he cleaned him up, his eyes wandered across his body. He cringed at the large bruises all over the man's body. Tom was very thin from what must have been months of barely eating.  
When Tord took over London, Tom had gone to fight with the resistance, and Edd and Matt had evacuated with those who did not join the resistance.   
However, Edd had ended up forming his own army, unknown to them at this time. It was a wonder Tom was still alive. The poor man's ribs could be seen through skin so pale it was almost  
translucent. He looked so fragile like this, it was hard to imagine he had just been a huge monster hellbent on killing him.   
When Tord was finished cleaning him up and applying disinfectant and bandages to the wounds, he simply lay beside him and fell asleep. Looking back, it was a terrible mistake that could have ended a lot worse.  
He woke up to callused hands wrapping around his throat, and two blazing black eyes. "What do you think you’re doing? Why am I in your bed?" Tom demanded.   
"You-you were asleep so I carried you here," Tord answered.   
"Why? Why not just let them kill me?" Tom didn’t let go of Tord's neck but he wasn’t squeezing it either, he was just holding him that way to keep him down.   
"You’re no use to me dead, Jehovah's. Calm down. I’m not about to propose or something. It's just that a dead monster is a useless one."  
Tom growled but it was cut off by a cough. His chest and lungs ached, his ribs bruised. He let go of Tord and looked at him. Tord sat up in bed. "You know the deal. Do as I say, and you live, and your friends live. Understood?"   
Tom nodded stiffly.   
"Good. Now what time is it?" He looked at his alarm clock. It read: 5 AM. "I still have two hours. You woke me up for nothing. Now go back to sleep,"   
he commanded, lying back down. Tom stared at him. "What?" Tord asked.   
"You-you aren’t afraid of me?"  
"No. Not like this Im not."  
"And if I turn?" Tom clenched his fists to show his strength.   
Tord shrugged lightly. "Then I'll worry. But youre not turning now. So let me sleep." Tord rolled over facing away from Tom and promptly fell back asleep.  
Tom unclenched his fists and continued to stare at Tord. Then, remembering all he had put him through, he clenched them again and hovered one fist just above the leader's head. He tried to will himself to hit him. He couldn’t. He huffed and withdrew his fist, then aimed it at Tord's head once more, stopping just before it made contact with his skull.   
He couldn’t do it. It was no use.   
Tom stayed awake for a while, remembering his old crush on Tord, before he had become this crazed maniac hellbent on taking over the world. He enjoyed his playfulness, and the attention that he showed him, bad or good.  
The constant cycle of teasing and ignoring got on his nerves. The little shit could push his buttons like no one else but no one else could be such an asshole and still be so endearing while doing it. Dammit.  
No. Enough. Tord wasn’t Tord anymore. He was Red Leader now. And Tom did not love Red Leader, nor did he like him. "Never," Tom mumbled to himself.   
Famous last words.


	3. Chapter Three

7 AM came quickly. Tords alarm went off, awakening both of them. Tom grumbled and rolled over in his sleep, telling the alarm to "shut up."   
Tord quickly headed into the shower. He cleaned up and got dressed, then walked back to the bed and poked Tom's cheek. "Hey you. Get up. I am going to show you around my base today."  
"Base? Tord what the hell are you on ab-" Tom suddenly realized where he was. "Holy snakes in cider...that was real."   
"If you’re going to be my soldier you have to know where things are don’t you? Of course you do. Now here..." He threw a custom made uniform at Tom. It was a blue jacket covered by a black vest, and dark blue pants. On either side of the vest Tom noticed there were checkered circles- a nice touch; it seemed Tord  
remembered that he liked a checkered pattern.   
"Turn around," he said.   
Tord smiled. "Sure."   
Tom hastily stood and took off his bloodied cloth that was around his waist, and instead put on his new outfit. He then walked over to Tord hesitantly. "Alright, now what?"   
Tord held back a little smirk. Tom wasn’t fighting right now. It was nice.   
As time went on, Tord and Tom became closer and closer. They bonded over mutual memories of their friendship and since Tom didn’t have anyone else to talk to,   
he learned to confide in his old enemy. He found himself becoming possessive and protective over Tord, his one link to the things that once made him so happy. They heard that Edd formed his own army and took Matt along with him.   
Apparently neither of them wanted anything to do with Tom anymore and it hurt. It was certainly a confusing and overwhelming situation but Tord was all he had.   
And so gradually, life took an unexpected turn for the two, as they began to form a unique relationship.


	4. Chapter Four

It was morning, about 1 year after Tord had first taken Tom to his base. 

When Tom woke up, he looked around for Tord who was nowhere to be found. "Tord?" he called out. "Where are you?"

He had to admit he was a little worried after last night. He had turned into his monster form and judging by the hole in the wall, had caused some definite damage.  
Sometimes he was too rough with Tord and in his monster form, it was easy to let the anger take over and to forget how fragile humans were. Their relationship was never official. No, they were still playing that same game with each other: I hate you, I love you. When it would end, neither of them knew, but neither wanted to be the one to back down and admit defeat, admit they really loved each other. And so they continued to basically rule together, with Tom more behind the scenes with the technical stuff. He helped Tord with all the paperwork and generally helped to advise him. Arguments would break out more often than not, things would be said and taken back. Sometimes Tom would turn into monster form but usually Tord could avoid it. He would test the limits and could usually sense by now exactly when Tom was about to turn, and immediately begin damage control with kind and soothing words or apologies. However, when that didn’t work, Tord usually ended up getting hurt in some way or another and the room was usually trashed. Yet Tord kept on pushing his buttons. It was fun to him. It was a game to him. But Tom didn't see it that way.

He didn't think it was right for Tord to do that. He hated turning into monster form unless he actually felt a need to. He hated the feeling of not being in control. What if he did something he couldn't take back? He would never forgive Tord, or himself, if that happened.

Tom sighed. He changed into non-ripped clothes(jeans and a nice blue shirt) and went to look for Tord. He found him sitting with his soldiers in the  
cafeteria, eating breakfast. "Hey."

"Oh hello Tom. Sit and eat with us."

"Alright." Tom went to grab a tray of food and came back to the table to sit with the others.

He focused on eating but he did hear bits and pieces of the conversation:

"I hear Edd and his army have regrouped."

"Ah, I'm not worried."

"You probably should be, Red Leader."

"....10,000 troops."

"That can’t be true."

"What do you think?"

"I'm not doing it again."

"....send a letter."

"Why do you think...."

"He isn’t in charge here."

"The problem is you always think you're right."

Tord stood up abruptly and Tom looked up at him. He stormed out of the hall leaving his food behind. Tom quickly stuffed the rest of his bacon and eggs into his mouth, shot the soldiers an   
apologetic look and hurried after him. 

Tom knocked on the door to the room.

"Don’t come in," Tord said.

"Well, you're forgetting this is pretty much my room now too."

"Never stopped me in the past," Tord quipped, remembering the time he had taken Tom's room.

"Ok well this is different. We work together now. Don't make me go all monster on you."

Tord laughed mirthfully. "As though you would." But he opened the door. Tom walked in.

"So what was all that back there? What's going on? Edd's army is regrouping?"

"Yes. They say he has 10,000 troops but I don't believe a word of it. This just goes to show how far gone Edd is. If he truly thinks he can defeat me."

Tom was deep in thought. "Even if he has 10000 troops, that's still less than what we have."

"Tom let me ask you a question."

"Alright."

"Do you think I should have killed Edd when I could have?"

Tom was slightly taken aback by the question. He hadn't seen Edd in about a year now. Edd had changed a lot since the years of their friendship. He had become much darker. He had become something Tom never imagined he would become. But then again, had any of them imagined this is what would become of them? "I think if you wanted to, you should have," was his reply.

Tord shook his head. "No. I want your opinion. Should I have killed him?" he asked again.

Tom thought about it. "I can see it two ways...1. If you had killed him, you wouldn't be dealing with this issue now. 2..." he hesitated.

"Go on."

"2..." Tom took a deep breath, unsure of what Red Leader's reaction was going to be to his next comment. "...If you had killed him, you may have   
regretted it. He was our friend. And I know he's changed, and so have we...but personally I'd rather not have his blood on my hands."

Tord nodded. "I see."

"Are you...upset with me?"

"No. It just brings back memories, that's all."

Tom let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in.

"What were the soldiers saying before, that got you angry?"

Tord's expression darkened slightly. "They were trying to advise me. That isn't their job. Their job is to fight. It's your job to advise me. So I will ask you, do you think it is wise to send a letter to Edd and try to reason with him?"

"I do."

"Alright."

Tord sat down and penned a letter to Edd.

"--Official Correspondence from the Base of Red Leader--"

I am writing to inform you that I have gained knowledge of your plot to overthrow me. The choice to do so would be an egregious error. It would be a mistake from which you would not recover. I had mercy on you once before but I will not show mercy again. All of your troops will perish if you choose to continue this fruitless quest. Isn't it wise to live out the rest of your life in peace? I am aware that you have a family now. A wife and a pretty little daughter. Elana, isn't it? I don't think Elana wants to lose her father. Take heed, Edward.

This will be your only warning.

Signed,

Red Leader.

He scrawled his signature on the note and slipped it into an envelope then gave it to Tom to mail. 

Edd received the letter and wrote back: 

"If you think you are going to intimidate me, you're wrong. There is nothing I cant or wont do. You took everything from me and now it is time that I take everything from you. How dare you bring my wife and daughter into this. They have nothing to do with this. If you even dare to touch them I will make sure your death is slow and painful. You don't know who you are dealing with Tord. I am not who you remember me to be. Consider this the last thing I ever say to you. The next time I see you, I will be standing on your grave. Goodbye Tord." 

Tord sighed and threw the letter to the side.

"What is it?" Tom asked anxiously. "What did he say?" Tord handed him the letter.

"Alright. Then we have to get ready." But inside his head Tom was already planning something else.

Tord began the preparations for war, but Tom thought he could fix things before they went too far. He wrote a letter to Edd, telling him he was coming the next day, in peace and unarmed. He decided to secretly go to Edd and try to reason with him. That next night, he snuck out.

He felt bad going behind Red Leader's back but he knew for a fact that Tord would never agree to this.

But Edd had a plan of his own.

Edd sat and talked with Tom for awhile. Tom begged him to reconsider, told him no one else had to die. Tried to convince him that both parties could co-exist peacefully. Edd pretended to agree. He sent a letter to Tord calling off the war, but secretly prepared for an attack.

Meanwhile, back on base, Tom was very pleased with himself and stood behind Tord as he read Edd's letter. "What does it say?" he pretended not to know.

"It says he wants a truce. He changed his mind."

"What? Oh that's great!"

"Yes. But it's a little suspicious, don’t you think?"

"What? Uh, no. Not really."

"Hmmm."

That night the two lay in bed. Tom slept peacefully on his side, thinking he had prevented a war. Tord wasn’t so sure. "What is Edd up to?" he muttered to himself. He knew it couldn't possibly be over.

He lay on his back staring up at the ceiling for a while and thinking of everything that could go wrong. He looked over at Tom, and stared at him for a few moments, allowing himself a smile. The Brit looked so peaceful and happy. He glanced at the alarm clock. The clock read 2:20 AM.

Finally he fell asleep.


	5. Chapter Five

Tord awoke to the sound of gunshots. He jolted up, his heart beating wildly in his chest. "Please let it just be a dream," he thought. But the gunfire continued. And it was getting closer. He cursed inside his head. This could only mean one thing. His worries had come true. Edd's army was attacking. And they were completely and ridiculously unprepared, since after Edd's note had been received Tord had stopped preparations for war. He was angry at himself for not seeing this coming. And for ignoring that instinct that said something wasn't right. 

"Tom!" He hissed, shaking the man next to him awake. "Tom!"

"Hmm? What?" Tom said sleepily. He barely moved. 

"We're under attack!"

Just then a bullet shattered the glass and flew into the room, embedding itself in the wall right above Tom's head.

"HOLY HAMBURGERS IN A HOTDOG STAND!" Tom jumped out of bed.

Tord screamed incomprehensibly in Norwegian, quickly changing into his clothes. "Get dressed! Now!" He yelled at his second in command.

Tom was already doing so. A million questions raced through his head. Was this Edd's army? It had to be. But why would he lie? Why had he tricked them? ("because that's strategy, you idiot," he yelled at himself)

Tord threw on his coat. "It was a trick. I knew it. He tricked us."

"This doesn’t make sense. When I went there Edd promised me he wouldn't attack. He told me he understood..." He trailed off.

"YOU WENT TO EDD?!" Tord looked like he was going to murder someone.

"Well, yes I...I thought I could convince him to stop this. He sent the letter so I figured..."

"YOU ARE THE REASON FOR THIS! ANYONE HE KILLS TONIGHT IS ON YOU!" Tord yelled furiously. "You betrayed me!"

Now Tom was pissed. "Betrayed you? By trying to help? I had no way of knowing he would lie-"

"Of course he would! This isn't the Edd you remember, Tom. The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be. He wants me dead and he might just get his wish tonight because of you!" 

Tom was stunned and enraged. "Fuck off with that. This isn't my fault." His mouth felt dry and his heart sank as worry took over. 

"Stay here Thomas. That's an order."

"But..."

Tord ran out before he could say another word. 

Tom stood in stunned silence as the door slammed in his face. So many different emotions were running through him right now. Stay? Like a dog?

No. He wasn't going to just stay here and let things happen. "Or maybe I should," part of him said. "Maybe I should let him do this on his own, after   
the way he treated me. I didn't deserve to be treated like that. Stupid Tord. Let him deal with it himself."

Tom sat on the bed trying to calm his mind. Part of him knew he was thinking childishly, and now was definitely not the time for that, but part   
of him was very angry at Tord. "Betrayed you? Fuck you," he muttered. "Maybe I should've shown you what betrayal really is. Oh wait, you already know   
ALL about that, don't you, Tord?" He was talking like Tord was there to hear him. "Stupid stupid stupid," he growled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tord ran into the fray, barking orders. He started to fire at the enemy army, moving closer to the middle in order to try and get to Edd. He knew most of Edd's little tactics.

Stay in the middle, where you are safe, protected on all sides by your army. Well, as logical as that was, today, Tord wasn't going to follow that rule himself. Edd never really did any actual fighting. He preferred to let his men take care of the fighting, and he would save the strategy part for himself. He wasn't the type to get his hands dirty. Sure he had fought before, but for some reason he would never face Tord man to man. There was always something in between. Perhaps he was afraid. Perhaps it was another reason. But whatever reason it was, Tord wanted to end that TODAY.

He fought his way through a line of his people, none of whom protested as he got closer to the middle of the fighting, until Pau and Pat spotted him.

"Red Leader!"

"Hey! Hey! Red Leader!"

Tord cursed and ducked his head, pushing through a long line of soldiers as gunfire rang out all around him. He didn't want them to stop him from facing Edd himself.

This time he would face Edd personally. This time, he would make sure he was dead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom remained in the room, pacing back and forth across the floor. He was very tempted to just grab his loyal bottle of Smirnoff and start drinking himself into a stupor, but he knew that would make things even worse in the long run. If he went out there, Tord would berate him till no end, and he would be impossible to live with. He remembered the last time he had willingly disobeyed a direct order. Tord had made his life a living hell for a month. If he didn't go out, and Tord was harmed, he would never forgive himself. Yet he trusted Tord not to get hurt. He knew his skill, his abilities, his experience, his quickness. As long as he didn't do anything stupid, he should be fine. The problem was, that when Tord was angry, he didn't always think straight. He didn’t always think "safety first." He was reckless and ruthless. 

Finally Tom decided he had had enough.

He readied his weapon, kicked the door down, and went to join the battle. If he had to use his monster form, he would, but he would rather try to help out without turning, that way, at least at first, Tord might not know he had ever left his room. There was so much insanity going on that it was likely he wouldn't even notice him. If he turned, however, he would be the only thing anyone would notice. And part of him, knowing Tord, knew that Tord wanted to try to do this on his own this time. It was personal to him, especially after the trick had been played.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Tord got closer, he could see the top of Edd's head. Edd spotted him as well, and grinned evilly. Tord wasnt close enough to hear him yet, but he could see Edd's lips forming his name as he grinned. "Edd," Tord hissed back with a glare. He moved forward briskly, and that was when he felt it. At first he didn't feel pain. No, it was more of shock. His mind didn't register at first that he had been shot.

"Oh, what the..." He looked down at his leg, and that is when he felt it. The burn, and then the tearing, searing pain that radiated up and down his entire leg. That was when his mind decided to acknowledge the fact that yes, indeed, he had been shot. He let out a groan of pain. As he stared down at his leg, which had begun to bleed profusely, the battle around him seemed to fade away until he was in an almost dream-like state. Almost like there wasn't even any sound. When he looked up, he saw the heads of Pau and Pat. They were yelling something, screaming. Their mouths moved but he couldn't hear them. He took a step forward, and the pain seared through his leg.

He had to ignore the pain, he had to get to Edd. He saw Pau and Pat again, in the near distance, pushing to get to him. When their faces twisted into an expression of pure horror, he didn't understand why. That was when all sound came back to him, and he felt the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in his life as a bullet ripped through his torso. He never saw who shot him.

He screamed, but he never felt himself fall. The last thing he saw was a flurry of green, and Edd's face looming in front of him. 

By the time Tom made it into the middle of the fray, he saw that Tord's troops were retreating. Not good. He looked around. Where the hell was Tord? The looks on the faces of the soldiers around him made him very uneasy, but he fought back the feeling of dread that was welling up in his throat.

Tord was fine. He had to be fine. He was always fine. Right? He grabbed Pau's arm, and that's when he saw tears in both his and Pat's eyes.

"What...guys, guys, please tell me he's ok..." His heart sank with every second that went by. "Pau? Pat?" he pleaded, his black voids staring at them desperately.

"Tell me, is Tord ok?!" He grabbed them by their collars and pulled them closer. Pau let out a shuddering sigh. 

"He...he was shot."

Tom let go of the two soldiers and stepped back. "Shot?"

Pat nodded. "He...He's gone."

"...Gone?" Tom felt like he was about to vomit.

The two soldiers who had raised Tord couldn't stand to talk about it anymore and ran through the line of soldiers to get away from Tom. They couldn't face him right now.

They knew he and Tord were lovers, even if the rest of the army was kept unaware.

Tom stood there, as everyone ran around him, faces solemn and upset. Some people were crying.

He looked up and saw Edd's helicopters lifting away. "No..." His voice sounded dead. "No," he repeated. "EDD!" he screamed at the passing helicopter. "EDD! I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! I'M GOING TO KILL YOUR FAMILY! I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING DEAR TO YOU!" He vowed, shaking his fist. But Edd never even heard him over the sound of the helicopter's whirring.

Tom collapsed on the floor. The grief he felt was too palpable for him to even change into monster form. It even overwhelmed the anger so much that he felt he would be swallowed up by the weight of his emotions. What if this was his fault? He could have stopped this. He could've saved him. What use would it be anyway right now, to change form?

There was nothing left to defend. Tord was gone. His everything was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Chapter Six

Tord awoke to a bunch of noise and people above him. He was lying down on some sort of gurney. As he slowly came back to consciousness, the pain came over him in a sharp wave and he cried out. He freaked out and tried to get away, but he was held down. "L-let me go!" he cried out. One thought escaped through the pain, other than the prospect of escape: Tom. Tom! Where was Tom? Was he alright? Had he stayed in the room as his leader had ordered? Had Edd found him and killed him?

"Tom..." he said weakly.

"Tom is fine," someone said above him. "Sleep, Red Leader. I am on your side." He felt a small prick of a needle in his arm as someone administered another anesthetic.

Tord's eyelids were so heavy he couldn't keep them open any longer. He tried to see who the voice belonged to, because it sounded so familiar, but his eyes slipped closed. Tord was confused, but the voice comforted him and he gave in to sleep, lulled by the realization that at least Tom was ok.

Tom had hit rock bottom. He was sprawled out on his bed crying, the bedsheets half off the bed and soaked with tears and Smirnoff.

He had gone through one bottle already and it was quite the miracle that he hadn't already passed out. His whole body ached from the sobs that had wracked his body. He hadn't stopped crying for hours. Everyone else was busy dealing with the loss in their own way, and no one came to check on him. The loss had obviously hit them all very hard. Without a leader, there was no one to fight for.

Tom sobbed and screamed and yelled, throwing things at the walls. He clutched a picture of him and Tord to his chest and screamed until he could no longer make a sound, and screamed soundlessly, curled up into a ball. He couldn't stop blaming himself. He hated himself. He thought what a sick, selfish individual he had to be, to not help Tord just because he had yelled at him. "I am disgusting," he thought to himself. "I am not even fit to live. He should be here, not me. I should have died. People needed him. No one needs me. What if he thought I hated him? What if the last thought he had was that I was mad at him or that I betrayed him?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tord awoke to a strange scraping sound. It sounded like a knife scraping against something. He opened his eyes slowly and cautiously. A soldier in a green uniform was sharpening a knife on a block and had his back to him. It was then that Tord realized he was in a cell and he was lying on a cold floor. He slowly raised himself off the floor. He tried to be quiet but the movement made him gasp in pain, clutching his stomach where the bullet had gone through. The bandages were full of blood, but at least they were dry now. The noise caused the soldier to whirl around.

"Oh I see you're awake."

Tord just growled.

The soldier laughed. "Look at the big Red Leader now, stuck in a cage. How far the mighty have fallen. You might be wondering why you are still alive?"

Tord nodded, narrowing his eyes at the soldier.

"Ah, well, Matthew figured it would be best for you to be executed on live tv by the Green Leader. That way everyone would see Edd's power, and know that your reign has come to an end."

"Matthew?"

"Yes Matthew. Green Leader's second in command. Surely you know him?"

Tord nodded. A million questions ran through his mind. Since when was Matt so sadistic that he would want Edd to kill Tord on live tv? Unless...

He remembered the familiar voice: "Sleep, Red Leader. I am on your side."

MATT.

Was he dreaming? Or had Matt saved him? And for reasons other than Edd's sick scheme?

"Can I see him?"

"Who?"

"Matthew."

"What would you want to see him for?"

"To tell him congratulations on his little plot. I didn't think he was smart enough to think of something like that."

"Hmm. Very well. I will let him know of your request."

The soldier left the room. Tord stood up shakily, his leg pulsing and throbbing in pain. He looked around. His cell was completely empty other than a bench and a toilet and sink. Outside of his cell there were a few strange looking devices that looked like they would be used for torture. He sincerely hoped that Edd wasn't going to use them on him. He spotted the knife on the block and grimaced. Was that how he was to be executed? He really would rather not think about it. He had to focus on getting out of there. Hanging on the wall near the door was a key, most likely the key to his cell. If he could convince Matt to let him out...

The problem was, he hadn't seen Matt in years. He had no idea what to expect from his old friend turned enemy. And why would the man suddenly be on his side? 

Well, Matt had never been what you would call bright, but he did surprise him from time to time.

The doorknob turned and Tord held his breath. A shock of bright orange hair peeked in and Tord let his breath out.

Matt walked into the room, then closed and locked the door behind him.

"Matt." Tord's mouth felt dry. He offered Matt a small, weak smile. He wasn’t sure how to work this situation yet.

"Tord."

The two stared at each other for a few moments before Matt spoke. "Can I get a thank you?"

"...For?"

"Saving your life. Do you have any idea how close you were to death? I convinced Edd to let the medics save you."

"But why? So he could execute me in front of everyone?" Tord felt a pang of anger and betrayal.

"No. That's what EDD thinks. But I'm not going to let him do it. I'm going to get you out of here."

Tord almost didn’t dare to believe it. "Why?" Was all he could say.

"Because friends don’t let friends die." Matt had tears in his eyes now, and his lower lip trembled slightly.

Tord felt his heart drop. He saw that Matt had bandages on his arms and legs. Saw that he had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Matt must have been going through hell, being a part of the Green Army. He wasn't cut out for this kind of work.

"You-you're still...my friend?" Tord hated how weak his voice sounded. But after all that had happened, how could Matt still consider them friends?

Matt nodded. "You're all my friends. All 3 of you. I never wanted any of this to happen. After you did what you did, Edd became...different. So much has changed. But you know what hasn't?" Matt walked over to the cell so that he was almost face to face with Tord.

"My love for you." He reached through the bars and grabbed Tord's shirt, pulling them close and pressing their lips together. 

Tord gasped. His eyes widened. "Hva faen?!"(What the fuck?!) he yelled inside his head. Matt had his eyes closed and was still kissing him passionately, as though his life depended on it. Tord finally came to his senses and kissed back, knowing even through his shock that this might be the only way to escape. To make Matt think he loved him too. He hated to do this, because he loved Tom. He only ever wanted to kiss Tom. But in some way he knew that if given the choice between Tord dying because he didn't kiss Matt, or living because he kissed Matt, Tom would pick the 2nd option.

Finally Matt let go and Tord took a step back and literally fell on his ass. He groaned in pain. "Agh."

"Are you alright?" Matt asked worriedly.

Tord thought quickly. "I...I think one of my wounds is bleeding," he lied.

Matt grabbed the key from near the door. "If I let you out, you have to be good. You can't try to run. They will catch you."

Tord gestured angrily at his leg. "I can barely walk let alone run."

Matt sighed. "I'll take care of your wounds but we still have to pretend you are going to be killed. When the time is right, I will sneak you out. But not now. Ok?"

"Yes. Yes, whatever. Just...get me out of here."

Matt opened the door to the cell. Tord stepped out.

"When is he planning to execute me?"

"In 5 hours."

"Faen!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down. No one can hear us. Please." Matt shot him a pleading look. He gently took Tord's arm. "Where are you bleeding, love?"

"My...my leg."

Matt picked the Norski up in his arms. "Don't worry I'll take care of you." Tord didn't protest; he knew there was no use, and truthfully he didn't think he could walk anyway.

Until his leg healed, he was going to need all the help he could get. He hated it. He didn’t want to have this weakness.

If he couldn't walk, how could he lead his army? Was he going to be forced to walk around with crutches, be in a wheelchair, or...god forbid...be carried everywhere?!

Although, he had to admit, the idea of Tom carrying him around really did please him. But only Tom.

Matt took him to a small room with a cot and laid him down. He grabbed some disinfectant and stitches while Tord gazed curiously around the room, trying to formulate an escape plan of his own.

"So what exactly is your plan?" he asked Matt.

"Well..." Matt looked sheepish.

"Oh god..." Tord thought. "What is it, Matt?"

"I was thinking we could put you in a bag and drag you out."

Tord facepalmed. "Like trash?"

"Well yeah. But it would get you out. I'd take you outside the wall and you could escape."

"Yeah, limping all the way."

"It's the only thing I can think of. If I fight them, we'll both be killed."

"Edd would never kill you."

To Tord's shock and dismay, Matt started crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	7. Chapter Seven

Tom had woken up and gotten out of his drunken stupor long enough to turn on the tv. It had been a few hours since he drank, and it was beginning to wear off. He rolled over and clicked it onto the news channel, where he was sure he would hear news of the Red Leader's death. But instead...:

NEWS BULLETIN. THIS JUST IN

Green Leader captures Red Leader, has declared himself ruler. Live execution of Red Leader to take place at 5pm.

Tom literally jumped out of bed. "WHAT?!" He stumbled two feet across the floor and almost fell headfirst into the wall.

"WHAT?" he said again. He was almost giddy. Execution at 5pm? That meant Tord was still alive! That meant he could save him! Tom wasted no time.

He proceeded to drink as much water as he could in an attempt to sober up some more. He then got dressed, grabbed his rifle and stumbled outside, practically running to get Pau and Pat.

"Pau! Pat!" He pounded on their door. "HE'S ALIVE!"

The two men looked up at the door and then ran to it and opened it.

"Tom!"

"He's alive! Tord's alive!"

"How do you know?"

"It's on tv! Edd is planning to execute him at 5pm!"

Pau and Pat grabbed their weapons. It was time to kick some ass.

CHAPTER 8 

(AN: I am using "Larsin" for Tord's last name instead of the normal spelling just to have respect for the real person behind the name.)

Tord sat on the cot and held out his leg for Matt to examine it.

"Since when have you become some kind of medic?" Tord asked, somewhat impressed. 

Matt laughed, but it was without humor. "Edd had to have some use for me. Guess it turned out I was better than he thought." 

Tord hesitated. "Matt, is Edd mean to you?"

Matt didn't reply, he just tended to Tord's wound. He didn't even say anything about the fact that Tord had lied about it bleeding.

Maybe he didn't remember.

"Alright, I have to take you back to your cell now."

"N-no! Wait, wait! Uh...can't we try to escape now? Surely there is a way past the guards? You would know, Matt, you know this place better than anyone other than Edd, I'm sure."

"Tord..."

"Please Matt. Please." Tord's silver- grey eyes looked pleadingly into Matt's bluish-green ones. "We can’t wait. We have to escape now."

"Not yet."

Tord took Matt's face gently in his hands and gazed into his eyes. "Matt. I don’t want to die. I...I love you," he lied. He had to convince him somehow.

Matt stared back into his eyes for a few moments, then picked him up, heaving a sigh. "Only for you..."

Matt began to carefully navigate his way through the building, down several stairwells. He was going to try to reach the basement. Inside the basement there was a window, and if he knocked out the glass they could escape. Matt walked as quickly as he could. Tord could tell he was terrified.

"I know what you're risking, Matt. I understand," he said, trying to make some sort of conversation.

"No, I don’t think you do."

"What do you mean?"

BOOM! There was a gunshot and they both froze to the spot as a bullet went zooming right past them.

There was a loud laugh that echoed off the walls and chilled them both to the bone.

"Well, well, well. It looks like my old friend is still up to his sneaky ways. Tord, you know better than to pick on someone with the intelligence of a kitchen shelf." It was Edd.

Matt's face dropped, but Tord could see some anger behind the expression.

"Matt, come on. You know he is just tricking you. Whatever he's said, it's a lie. That's all he does, is lie. I know you don't remember things but this is one thing you should always remember. Tord Larsin is a liar and a traitor."

"He...he said he loved me."

Edd laughed. "Loved you? He doesn’t even love himself. Turn around."

Matt slowly turned around with a very terrified Tord still in his arms.

"Drop him."

Matt hesitated.

"Matt, I said drop him." Tord could tell this was probably the first time Matt had ever disobeyed him. If truth be told, he was very proud of Matt right now. But he had very little hope that Matt would be able to get him out of this.

"N-no." Matt's voice shook. "You can't kill him. It isn't right. We were all friends once, weren't we? I may have a bad memory but I do remember that. I remember how happy we were. Please Edd. Please."

"The execution will take place now. Obviously he can’t be trusted not to try to escape while he still lives." Edd ordered his soldiers to take Tord away from Matt. 

Matt screamed and held onto Tord the best that he could, shielding him. "NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

It took three soldiers to overpower him, but overpower him they did, and dragged the Norski away kicking and screaming. Matt tried to follow but Edd held him back.

"You're not going anywhere. Because of this, you're going to have a front row seat to his death."


	8. Chapter Eight

Tom, Pau and Pat were on their way to Edd's base. They thought they had till 5pm, but they still didn't want to waste any time.

When they got there, they jumped out readying their weapons. Pau and Pat wanted to storm right in, but Tom made them wait. "No. Wait."

He stood still, closed his eyes, and thought of everything he had just gone through. Thought of Edd shooting Tord. Thought of Tord being in pain. Of Edd's laughter as he suffered.

And that's all it took.

He let out a monstrous roar, making Pau and Pat step back with wide eyes. They held onto each other's hands as they witnessed the sight. It wasn't their first time seeing Tom turn into a monster, but it was still truly a terrifying sight to behold. His limbs stretched out and huge muscles formed on his arms and chest. Two purple horns formed on his head. He summoned all his strength and kicked down the wall. He then growled at Pat and Pau to follow him. The two men hurried after him.

Edd's soldiers were nowhere to be found. They were all watching the execution take place. There was one lone sniper perched in a tree nearby but thankfully Pau saw him and pointed him out before he could take aim. Tom shook the tree until the man fell down and then stomped on him.

They made their way to a clearing where Edd stood on a podium with Tord. Tord was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. He had a gag in his mouth so he couldn't speak.

Several cameras were set up around the area, and all of Edd's people stood with their backs to the intruders, awaiting the triumph of their leader.

"Fuck. They said 5 pm," Tom cursed.

The sun shone high in the sky, casting a warm glow on all the subjects below. Tord couldn't help but think that it might be the last time he would ever feel the sun’s rays upon him. The blue sky was dotted with only a few puffy white clouds. Tord forced himself to look up at the sky for a moment, taking it all in. It seemed so peaceful. He wished he could just float away with the clouds.

Edd stepped up. He wore a fancy green uniform with his logo emblazoned on the left side of his chest. "Today you are going to witness your leader take his rightful place as ruler of the world," he began. (AN: Well, it IS called EDDsworld, after all. :p )

"As most of you know, Red Leader, or, Tord Larsin, as you also may know him, has been ruling for quite some time now." He glanced down at Tord and kicked him hard. Tord yelled angrily through the gag. "But as you can see, my army took over and now he's much worse for wear." Edd laughed.

Tord could feel his wound starting to bleed again. Great. Just great. Well, maybe that was the least of his problems. If Edd decided to not shut up for a while, he might actually bleed to death before Edd could kill him himself. Oh, what a sight that would be! In fact, at this point, having given up almost all hope of rescue, Tord actually hoped he would bleed to death instead. It would be one last blow to Edd's ego. One last defiant act.

Edd droned on and on for a while, reliving all of his own "courageous" acts as leader, and talking about all the things he would do as their leader. One of them included outlawing bacon. Tord almost choked on the gag in indignation as he heard that. Outlaw BACON? But Edd always loved bacon. Wow, Edd really had changed. At least he hadn't said he was going to outlaw cola. Then he would have to question if this was actually Edd at all.

As Edd went on and on, Tom and the others tried to think of a plan. "Pau, you sneak up behind Edd and grab him as soon as I give the signal. Pat, you stay with the car. You'll be the getaway driver. And me? I'm going to make Edd wish he was never born."

As Edd talked, Tord noticed that Matt was sitting in one of the front row seats, and had obviously been trying to catch his eye.

"I'm so sorry," he mouthed. Tord noticed Matt's hands and feet were bound to the chair. Tord nodded. There was nothing else he could do. He wished Matt didn't have to see this. Matt didn't deserve any of this. He was still the same old innocent cinnamon roll he always was. Tord took a moment to think about the kiss. Since when had Matt had a crush on him? They had been great friends, for sure, but never had Tord realized it was something more. Maybe Matt had hidden his feelings. Tord knew for a fact that Edd and Matt had been dating for some time. Something obviously changed once Edd changed. And Tord couldn't help but think that maybe all of this was his fault. He had betrayed them all, destroyed Edd's house. Driven Edd mad. He had been the catalyst that began this insanity.

And now, maybe rightfully so, it would end with his death.

The Norwegian suddenly realized that Green Leader had stopped talking. That was a bad sign. "Faen, and I haven't even bled out yet," he thought bitterly.

He was not looking forward to the blade. He had a severe phobia of sharp objects ever since Tom had shot him down with the harpoon, and he hadn't gotten over it yet. Even seeing a knife in the hand of anyone else gave him pause. It was quite ridiculous for the great Red Leader to have such a fear, and nobody knew of it, except of course for Tom. Tom knew everything about him.

Edd unsheathed his knife. It glinted in the fading sunlight, and within the blade Tord could see his own wide grey eyes. 

Tord thought of Tom. The last words he had said to Tom: "He wants me dead and he might just get his wish because of you. Stay here Thomas. " And the last words Tom had said to him: "Fuck off with that. This isn't my fault."

He knew Tom was going to live with this the rest of this life. He didn't want Tom to think it was his fault, but his last words to him had all but ensured that the Brit would feel that way. He was so mad at himself. Why couldn't their last words have been something sweet, like "I love you." Anything but what had actually been said. He hoped Tom knew how much he loved him. 

A single tear ran down Tord's cheek as looked up at Edd. Edd put the knife to Tord's throat and Tord shivered and then went still. He sucked in a deep breath, realizing that it might be the last breath he took in this world. He refused to close his eyes and looked straight into the camera. He would go out bravely.

"WAIT!"

Tord's eyebrows shot up as he saw a little girl running towards them. "What in the living hell?" he thought.

The young girl looked to be about 6 years old. She had long, plush, shiny dark hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She had soft light brown eyes and was wearing a little green overcoat with green pants and pink shoes. Tord realized with a jolt exactly who she looked like. This was Edd's daughter Elana.

Pau had just been about to sneak up behind Edd and grab him, when he paused at the sight of the little girl. Elana ran onto the podium.

"Elana, please sit down. Go to your mother," Edd said. 

"No daddy, daddy can't kill Red Leader." The little girl proceeded to hug Tord. Tord's eyes were as wide as saucers right now. He couldn't even believe this was happening. He probably wouldn't have even been able to form a sentence if he wasn't gagged. 

"Elizabeth, get your daughter out of here," Edd ordered his wife.

His wife came onto the podium and dragged Elana away. "NO!" She screamed. "Daddy youre not mean!"

Edd hesitated for a split second, moving the knife away from Tord's throat just slightly. Tom roared and showed himself. That was Pau's cue to tackle Edd. 

Pau pounced on Edd, tackling him to the ground and trying to wrestle the knife away. The crowded gasped. Tord laughed in relief, seeing Tom and Pau. He watched as Tom made his way through the crowd, stomping on whoever was in his path. He picked up soldiers and threw them high in the air, only for them to land on the ground with a sickening crack. He made his way forward, towards Edd's wife and daughter. Pau managed to wrestle the knife from Edd's grasp and stab him in the side before he was torn away by Edd's soldiers.

Edd cried out in pain and dropped. Elizabeth and Elana screamed and ran to him but Monster Tom blocked their path. Tom looked at the soldiers restraining Pau.

"Let him go. Unless you want your head ripped off."

They let him go and Pau stumbled forward, racing to untie Tord. "Thank you. Thank you," is all Tord could think to say. He was completely stunned. He tried to stand up but Pau noticed his leg. 

"Here, lean on me," he offered. He wrapped an arm around Tord's shoulders and led him away from the podium and towards the car. Tord looked back at Tom the whole way, making sure he was ok. Many shots were fired at Tom but the ones that hit him wouldn't have much of an effect, as once he turned back into human form it would be like it never happened. It was obviously painful but he wasn't going to let it stop him.

"Edd! You tried to kill the man that means everything to me! Now I'm going to kill the things that mean everything to you!" Tom approached Elizabeth and Elana. 

"Don't harm them."

"Order your troops down."

Edd reluctantly did so.

Elizabeth was clutching Elana in her arms. Tom leaned down to her. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

"Get away!" she screamed.

Tom felt anger surge up inside of him like a volcano. "That's not an answer." He picked Elizabeth up, causing her to drop Elana to the ground.

He threw the woman like a bowling ball at Edd, and she slumped to the ground bleeding from the head. He then knelt down to the little girl, who stared up at him with large brown eyes. She wasn't crying, but she was close to it, and tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes.

"Daddy says monsters aren't real," she stated. "Maybe if I close my eyes you'll go away."

"Your daddy is a monster," Tom hissed.

"No he's not, my daddy loves me," Elana insisted, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. It was then that Tom realized that she looked exactly like Edd. It reminded him of the old days, of the times when they were all so innocent. Her eyes held the softness and innocence that Edd's once held. It almost broke his heart.

He knew he couldn't kill her. Besides, she had tried to save Tord.

Edd sat up, clutching his side in pain. "Tom...that's my little girl. She's my angel. Please. Don’t be heartless," he pleaded.

As much as Tom wanted to see his reaction if he suddenly bashed Elana's head against the ground, he refrained. He walked over, picked Edd up and smashed him repeatedly against the ground as he cried out in pain. He took his sharp nails and dug them into Edd's wound until he screamed in agony. "Maybe you should look at her and see what it actually means to be a good person again," he stated. "You were just like her, once." He growled, but this time there was slightly less malice in it. 

"Most of your soldiers are dead. Your wife may be as well. I don't know. But an eye for an eye, right Edd?" He looked the other man straight in the eye.

"If I ever see you again, if you EVER come near Tord, I will kill you. And your daughter. Do not underestimate me." He kicked him. "Now go and pick up the pieces of what's left of your useless life. Take the girl, and go far away. Goodbye Edd."

And with that, he walked away. 

But there was one more thing that needed to be done. 

"...Tom?" The shaking voice sounded very familiar. Could it be...?

He turned around. "Matt?"

Matt struggled to get free from his bonds. "Tom, save me. Get me out of here."

Edd struggled to his feet, blood dripping from his wounds. "No, he's mine."

"Tom, PLEASE." Matt looked at him with eyes full of fear and desperation.

"Why should I?"

That was when Tord cleared his throat and spoke up, walking up behind Tom with the help of Pau and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"He's the only reason I'm alive right now."

Tom looked at him with confusion. 

"I'll explain later. Free him and let's get in the car." 

Tom picked Tord up gently in his arms and carried him back to the car. After placing the man in the backseat he changed back to full human form and sat in the backseat with him. He cradled Tord in his arms and cupped his chin, kissing him passionately.

They kissed like they hadn't seen each other in years. Like the fate of the whole world depended on the amount of passion and love in that kiss.   
The kiss itself must have lasted at least 5 minutes, with no one daring to interrupt.


	9. Chapter Nine

Pau and Pat drove them back to the base. Matt sat beside Tom looking very shaken and very upset. Tord had claimed to love him. So how could he be kissing Tom now???

Tord had never felt happier to be back home. Tom wasted no time in picking him up and carrying him to the bedroom where he laid him down and, despite much protesting, examined Tord's wounds to make sure they were taken care of properly. He cleaned the wounds and changed the bloody bandages, and gave him a painkiller before sitting next to him on the bed and stroking his hair.

"Careful, Tom..." Tord whined, not wanting him to mess up his hair horns.

"Oh shut up, I'm not going to mess up your silly hair horns."

Tord smirked and closed his eyes, enjoying being pet.

Matt had been taken to a room of his own, and was curled up in bed crying to himself. He had a major crush on Tord and wanted to be with him. He hadn't known of Tom's relationship with Tord until Tom had picked Tord up in his arms and kissed him passionately right in front of him after the rescue.

"So what did you mean about Matt being the only reason you are alive?" Tom asked Tord.

"He convinced Edd to let himself and the other medics save me, on the pretense that Edd would be able to then execute me on live tv."

"Wow, Matt thought of that?"

"Apparently."

"Why would Matt switch sides?"

"That's...what I need to talk to you about."

Just then, Matt himself burst into the room.

"Tord! Why did you kiss Tom? YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVE ME! Did our kiss mean nothing?!"

"..."

"..."

"What?" Tom finally asked.

Tord facepalmed. "That's what I needed to tell you. Matt, come here for a moment please. We need to talk." He sat up in bed with a grimace, adjusting his bandages around himself.

Tom, by now, had gotten off the bed and was staring at Matt accusingly. "You kissed him?"

"Yes, I did!" Matt practically screeched. "And he kissed me back! Are you two a couple?"

"I don’t know anymore. Tord, explain yourself?" Tom was pissed.

"Ok, ok, Matt kissed me and I kissed him back so he would get me out of my cell."

"Wait...you tricked me?"

"Well...not exactly..."

"YOU TRICKED ME! Edd was right!" Matt hurled a vase at Tord's head. Tom jumped in front of Tord and caught the vase before it could hit him.

"Matt," he said in a low growl. "Get out of here now."

"Matt, I'm sorry. Tom and I have been a couple for a long time now. Nobody really knew..." Tord glanced at Tom, then back to the ginger haired man. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Matt was shaking with tears and rage. "I LOVE you, Tord. Doesn’t that mean anything? I saved your life!"

"I understand that, Matt, and I will forever be grateful to you, but I love Tom."

"I'm going back to Edd."

"Please dont. I dont want him to harm you."

"You're right, not even Edd will want me now! I really messed up. I can't believe this."

"Well," Tord said softly, "I guess it's safe to say that a little ice cream won’t fix this now?" He smiled half-heartedly at his little joke.

Matt's eyes lit up through the tears. He looked at him cautiously. "What?"

"I said, I guess it's safe to say that ice cream w-" he couldn't even finish the sentence before Matt jumped at him, kissing him on the cheek, leaving teardrops.

"I would LOVE some ice cream!"

Tom growled again and shoved Matt away. "He's mine," he hissed.

Tord just sat there with wide eyes. He really had not expected that to work this time.

"Uh, let's...go get ice cream then?" he suggested.

"Fine," Tom said.

They drove to the ice cream place, and Tom sat Tord down in a booth before going up to order. He knew what kind of ice cream Tord liked.

He ordered a vanilla cone for himself and a bright blue ice cream with cake pieces in it for Tord. He then turned to Matt. "What do you want?"

"Oooo I want the SUPERMAN ice cream!" Matt exclaimed, pointing to the blue, red and yellow swirled ice cream.

"...and one superman ice cream please."

They brought the ice cream back to the table and Tom sat in the booth next to Tord, handing him his ice cream. Tord thanked him and Tom pressed himself up against Tord as close as possible, interlocking their hands together. Under the table they played footsies and Tord laughed.

Matt didn’t seem to notice and was perfectly content eating his ice cream, at least for the moment. In many ways he was just like a child.

Of course, everyone was staring at them. After all, everything that had just gone down had been broadcasted on live tv. And NOBODY wanted to get near Tom.

But truthfully, the three didn't seem to notice. They were just happy to enjoy this small, innocent, happy moment in their lives.


	10. Chapter Ten

That night, Tord and Tom slept peacefully in bed. It was probably the best sleep either of them had gotten in years. Both were completely worn out from the events of the past day or so, and grateful to be alive and be together. The moment they hit the bed they had drifted into a warm, comfortable sleep. Tom was pretty quiet in his sleep and didn't move around a lot. But Tord snored now and then and would occasionally sleep talk. 

Since the incident, Tom was even more possessive of Tord and had basically made it his life's mission to protect the little Norwegian. Although he had not exactly communicated that mission to him, it was made quite obvious by the way he held him and refused to let him out of his sight. He would never let anything happen to Tord again. For some reason, Tom's tail had come back out overnight, and had wrapped itself completely around Tord. It was as though the monster part of him, though asleep for now, still had the instinct to protect Tord. 

Matt was asleep where they had set him up, in the next house over. After coming home from eating ice cream, he had cried all night. He didn't understand why Tord didn't love him. When you kiss someone, it means you love them, right? he reasoned. "So why did Tord kiss me if he didn't love me? Maybe..." he thought, with a spark of hope, "maybe Tord was just pretending not to love me. Maybe he was afraid of Tom! I mean, who wouldn't be, seeing the huge monster he could turn into! Hmmm..."

Matt crawled out of bed, unable to sleep. He went to look in the mirror and rubbed his bleary eyes. Then he gasped in horror at the sight of his face. His eyes were bloodshot and red from crying, and had dark circles under them from lack of sleep. "My face! No wonder Tord acted that way!" He quickly pulled out a cosmetics case and worked on perfecting his image. Thankfully he had eye drops and a cream for dark under eye circles. Matt hadn't had much time to worry about his face while working for Edd's army. His prized hand held mirror had been broken in a scuffle and Edd refused to let him get a new one. So Matt basically lived in horror every moment of the day until he was able to sneak away to a bathroom to look in the mirror and make sure he looked ok. 

Matt spent probably an hour just looking at himself, and then the next hour he spent making a present for Tord, and by then it was 6 in the morning and the sun was slowly beginning to make its way through the window. 

Tord woke up with a loud yawn, and tried to stretch...except he found he couldn't move. Tom's arm was wrapped tightly around him still. Tord smiled, and slowly eased his way out of his arms. He laughed softly seeing Tom's purple tail around his waist and quietly removed that as well. Tom made a huffing sound in his sleep and his tail flicked back and forth before wrapping around Tord's pillow instead. Tord had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. How adorable Tom was! 

The Norwegian's neck ached from being held tightly in the same position all night but he wasn't upset. He knew Tom had just been afraid to lose him. He was surprised the Brit had been able to keep such a strong grasp on him all night though; usually people relax and change positions in their sleep but not him. Not that night. 

Tord pulled some clothes out and went to the bathroom to change and get washed up and ready for the day. He walked with a cane and tried not to lean too heavily on his leg. He had to be out and about he couldn’t just lay in bed all day. When he was done, he leaned down and kissed Tom gently on the cheek before slipping out the front door. There was no need to wake him up. He needed his rest. 

But when Tord stepped out the door, he was met with a surprise. Matt stood there, looking, Tord had to admit, radiant. His orange hair was perfectly styled on his head. His bright blue-green eyes sparkled and looked wide awake. His teeth were white and shiny, and the sunlight hit him just perfectly. He looked completely different than the poor, forlorn, bruised creature they had rescued from Edd's base. 

"Good morning, Red Leader." 

"Good morning, Matt."

"I...I made you something!" he said excitedly, thrusting an object into Tord's hands.

"Um, what's this?"

"It's a sculpture. It's supposed to be me and you."

Tord blinked. To him, it looked like two globs with eyes and arms, embracing each other.

"Oh. It's...very nice, Matt." 

"Yay! You like it! I hoped you would!"

"Thank you. Well, I'm off to get breakfast." He tried to push past Matt but Matt stopped him. 

"W-wait! Where are you going? What about a...a kiss? As a reward?" Matt puckered up his lips like one of his pet goldfish and Tord heaved a sigh. 

God, it was too early for this. 

"Matt, I can't kiss you. I am in a relationship with Tom. Please tell me you understand how relationships work."

"I DO understand how relationships work!" Now Matt sounded indignant. "You kissed me. That means you love me." 

"Oh my Godddd. Matt, no. I explained this to you. Now let me go. I have to eat before work."

Matt stood aside finally, watching him in shock. He couldn't believe he didn't get a kiss after giving Tord the gift! 

Tord sighed again and threw the sculpture in the nearest trash can, before heading to the chow hall. 

It was going to be a long day. 

Tord got his usual: bacon, scrambled eggs and toast with orange juice. Then he sat down at the table. There were only a few others awake at this time on a weekend. They saluted him tiredly then sat down to their own breakfasts. Tord ate quietly until Pau and Pat came in. They smiled and sat down next to him. 

"How are you feeling?" Pat asked.

"Great, actually," Tord replied.

"That's good. Hey, that ginger guy is outside looking for you. He said he was in love with you and needed to find you and apparently he doesn't understand what a chow hall is." 

~~~Flashback~~~

to Matt staring at the "Chow Hall" sign and scratching his chin. "What's this?" 

Back to present time...

"Yeah, we figured it would be best for you to uh, deal with him."

Tord laughed slightly. "I don't know what I am going to do with him. I can’t make him a soldier. He would end up blowing himself up. I can’t just keep him sitting around either, he'll get restless. And then of course there is the problem of him wanting to kiss me..." 

He looked past Pau and Pat to see Matt walking into the hall. "TODD!" 

Tord pretended not to notice. Pau and Pat looked around. "Who's Todd?"

"It's what he calls me when he forgets my name."

"Ohhhhh," the two soldiers said in unison. This Matt was a very strange creature. 

"Todd, I thought I would never find you!" Matt threw himself into Tord's arms, knocking him backwards and causing the piece of bacon in his mouth to go down his throat before he could chew it. Tord sputtered and gasped for air, but Pau and Pat thought it was just because of how tight Matt was hugging him. Tord pawed at Matt's chest trying to get him off and when Matt finally stepped away Tord's face was bright red and he began to claw at his throat.

"Sir?" Pau and Pat looked at him with wide eyed confusion. 

"Ack...choking..." Tord managed to gasp out through the small amount of airway he had left. 

Matt tilted his head to the side. "Todd? You don't look so good."

Tord glared at him and tried to swat at him but Matt jumped away. "NOT THE FACE!" 

Tord coughed but the bacon only lodged deeper in his throat blocking his airway completely. Tord leaned over the table holding his throat and gagging. He pounded at his chest trying to get the food up. Pat ran over and began to do the heimlich maneuver on him. 

Matt started to scream. "TODD'S DYING!" 

The hall had become to get more crowded, and everyone stared. Tord didn't know whether to be more scared or more embarrassed that he was choking to death in front of everybody. He tried desperately to get air but it just wouldn't go in. 

That was when Tom walked in. His eyes went white. "TORD?" 

Tord's hands slipped to his sides as he got weaker and Pat had to hold him up to continue the heimlich. Tom ran over and pushed Pat away and wrapped his arms around Tord. He gave one hard, inward and upward thrust into his stomach and the food went flying out of Tord's mouth. Tord collapsed in his arms gasping for air. 

"I know mouth to mouth," Matt announced, walking up to them. 

Tom growled. "NO." He pushed him away. "He doesn't need mouth to mouth. And if anyone is going to give him mouth to mouth it's going to be me." He cast a glare around the entire room and everybody who had been staring quickly turned away and went about their business. He held Tord up and looked at his face, which had started to turn back to its normal color. "Are you okay love?"

Tord nodded. "Yes. T-thank you." 

"Let's get out of here." Tom picked up the little Norwegian and carried him out of the hall.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Tom sighed as he sat Tord down on the couch. "What happened?"

"Matt," was all that Tord replied.

"What do you mean, Matt? It was his fault you choked?"

Tord nodded. 

Tom's hands curled into fists. His nails began to get longer and sharper and he didn't realize it until he felt warm liquid running down his hands. Blood. "Grrrr..." He licked the blood off his hands. 

"We have to get rid of him. He can’t stay here. He's only going to make things harder for us."

"Tom, he did save my life..." Tord pointed out, leaning with his head in his left hand, and giving a shrug. 

"AND THEN HE ALMOST KILLED YOU AGAIN!" Purple horns popped up on Tom's head. 

"Tom, you're turning into a monster again," Tord pointed out calmly, using his robot arm to give a wave in the direction of Tom's horns. 

"I AM NOT TURNING INTO A..." He felt his head. Ok, so he was. Great. Just great. "I can't turn right now. I'll destroy the whole place. This is all Matt's fault." 

"I suppose now is the wrong time to tell you that he gave me a gift this morning?" Tord said a bit lazily, with just a hint of a smirk on his face.

Tom stared at him. First of all, what? A gift? And why on EARTH was Tord grinning like that? Why did he seem to enjoy seeing Tom turn into a monster? What was wrong with him? "What kind of gift?" he asked.

"Oh some stupid sculpture that was supposed to look like him and I holding each other. I disposed of it." 

"WHAT?"

Tord had to hide his face in his hand to avoid laughing. Tom began to shift into monster form, the horns growing longer, his teeth growing sharper, and his tail popping out and writhing around furiously. But Tord wanted to see him shift ALL the way. So he added the kicker: 

"Of course, that was BEFORE he tried to kiss me again..."

There was a loud roar, possibly one of the loudest Tord had ever heard Tom give, and he had to admit he was impressed. The roar shook the foundations of the house and caused Tord's hair to blow back as if it was in the breeze. Tom began to shift fully, and it was a beautiful sight to see, at least to Tord. Tom was now tall and purple, with huge claws that looked like they could rip apart an entire building. That was because they actually could. Tom's large black eye looked down at Tord, and then picked him up suddenly. Tord yelped in surprise as Tom brought him right up to his face to look him in the eyes. "You are MINE," the monster growled possessively, sticking his tongue out and licking Tord's face. 

"Ughh. Tommm. Stop it," Tord protested, trying to wipe himself off. 

Tom sat Tord on his shoulder. "Hold on."

Tom bowed his head and busted right through the front doorway. 

Matt. Matt. He had to get to Matt. He had to destroy Matt. Kill. Kill. Kill. That's all that Tom could think of as he lumbered to the chow hall. Most of the base was awake now, and they all stared as Monster Tom made his way through the crowd carrying their leader on his back. They had seen the news broadcast and knew about Tom but it didn't stop them from being terrified. Tord assured them that everything was fine and held tightly onto Tom. It was fun, really, to ride Tom's back. He was like an overgrown stallion; without the grace, but just as majestic. 

As they neared the hall, Tord did have a moment of guilt. He really hadn't thought about this at all. Sometimes that happened though. Tord would get into moods and just...make things happen without thinking of the consequences. Matt was very much screwed now, and that hadn't necessarily been the communist's goal. He couldn't actually remember what his goal was. All he knew was that he just HAD to see Tom turn into a monster again. It excited him like nothing else. It was really quite sexy. To have Tom turn into this dangerous, dominant, growling monster. 

Within moments, the front wall of the chow hall had been demolished. And Tord, as high as he was on the whole idea of monster Tom, did not care much. He would just have his soldiers repair it, like everything else Tom had destroyed in the past. 

Pau and Pat jumped up from their table. Matt, who had still been at the table trying to talk to them, screamed and hid under the table. For a moment there was silence, and then Tom looked around, sniffed, smelled Matt, and headed toward him. Pau and Pat scrambled in two different directions to get away from Tom, and Tom flipped the table over effortlessly, revealing Matt. Matt cowered on the floor with his hands shielding his face. "Don't eat me!" 

Monster Tom leaned down to Matt and sniffed him. He could smell the fear. The fear smelled good. It excited him and his large purple tail began to wag behind him. Matt was almost in tears. Tom swiped at him with a paw and Matt screamed. Tom didn't like the loud sound, so he swiped at Matt again, throwing him across the floor. A small amount of blood leaked from Matt's side where Tom's claws had sank in. Matt got up slowly. "Tom. P-please. Is this because I tried to kiss Tord?" 

At those words, Tom roared and stomped his foot hard on the ground. Matt held out his hands pleadingly, in a prayer stance. 

"Ok, Ok, I won’t do it again. I wont. Just p-please d-don't hurt me." 

"Hmph." Tom seemed to consider this. He looked at Tord, blinking his large black eye. 

"Don't kill him," Tord said. 

Tom whined and thumped his feet on the floor in frustration. He wanted to rip Matt apart. But as much as Tord would have loved to see that happen to someone, it couldn't be Matt. Matt might be a nuisance but he meant no harm. And hopefully, now Tom had scared Matt sufficiently enough that he would leave Tord alone. 

"I said no. You did what needed to be done. You scared him. You don't need to kill him." 

Tom let out a shuddering, disappointed sigh, but consented to his leader. As gently as he could manage, he took Tord off his back and held him out for Matt to see. "This is mine," Tom said gruffly. "Stay away or you die." 

Matt nodded, not able to speak from fear. 

Tom turned away and slowly walked back home, carrying Tord in his mouth by the collar of his blue coat. 

Monster Tom picked up the front door that he had broken and leaned it against the wall to block the hole. Then he took Tord to the bedroom and dropped him on the bed. Tom paced around the room as though trying to control himself, before pouncing on Tord unexpectedly. Thankfully, Tom had begun to shift back into his half-monster form, so he didn't crush Tord to death. Before Tord could so much as say one word, Tom had ripped off Tord's pants and boxers and buried himself inside him to the hilt. Tord was HIS. All his. And he would claim him once again if that's what it took. Tom let his instincts take over and he thrust hard into Tord's ass with a loud groan. 

Tord cried out in need, his hands grasping on hard to the tattered fragments of what was left of Tom's blue shirt. Oh god he loved it when Tom was like this. 

Tom's tail wrapped around Tord's neck, not too tightly, but tight enough so that he wouldn’t dare to try to move. And he used one clawed hand to push on Tord's chest to keep him in place as he plunged into him mercilessly. 

Tord was lost in the pleasure and pain of being fucked by his monster-pet. His moans were loud and were music to Tom's sensitive ears. Tom's senses were heightened when he was like this, so on top of hearing, smelling and seeing better, sex was also more intense to him. There was nothing better than being buried in Tord's heat. And there was no describing what it did to Tord. It reduced him to a puddle of moaning, helpless pleasure. It was the best sex of his life. Every single thrust hit his sweet spot dead on. Tord's body shook with the force of Tom's thrusts and he lay his head back on the pillow, his eyes glazed and mouth open. Tom's purple tongue lolled from his mouth as he came inside Tord, and Tord came shortly after, riding multiple waves of pleasure and yelling Tom's name. 

Afterwards, Tom collapsed on top of the Norski, panting heavily. He slowly turned back to his full human form and all that remained was his stubborn tail, that unwrapped itself from Tord's neck and instead wrapped itself around Tord's waist protectively. Tord wrapped his arms around the sexy Brit, smiling tiredly. "Jeg elsker deg," (I love you) he murmured. And Tom attempted to say the same, before falling asleep on Tord's chest.


	12. Chapter Twelve

The next day, Tom and Tord went about their business as usual. After last night, they were both feeling very good. Tord probably got more done in one day   
than he usually got done in a week. 

They didn't realize that Matt was missing until afternoon, when Tord knocked on his door to see if he was alive. Frankly, Tom didn't give a shit, but Tord insisted, and so, to Matt's place they went. After knocking several times and getting no answer, Tord took out his set of master keys and let himself in. He searched the entire house. There was no Matt. But suddenly Tord's phone beeped. There was a message. It was from...Edd.

"You made a mistake. A big mistake. Do you know the real reason I kept Matt around? Do you really think I kept him around just for him to stand around and look pretty? Matt has a secret. Just like Toms. And I think you'll be seeing what it is real soon." 

Tord showed Tom the text from Edd. Tom told him it was probably nothing to worry about, just the insane ramblings of a man who had been defeated and was still trying to come out on top. Tord couldn't imagine Matt having any kind of dangerous secret. He always thought of Matt as the most innocent one out of all of them. He decided to text back anyway:

"What are you talking about?"

There was no reply. 

"Pfft." Tord scolded himself for even taking it seriously for one second. Matt had probably just left the base on his own accord, having been scared away by Tom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little over 3 months went by, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Tord and Tom ruled happily together. It was probably some of the best months of their lives. They had taken over half of Europe at this point. They hadn't heard anything from Edd and Matt and they figured it was better that way. 

Tom and Tord were in the process of training some new recruits. They were fairly young and inexperienced and would definitely need extra attention and any amount of attention Tord gave to anyone else, Tom became jealous of. So he took it upon himself to help with the training so he could be there too.

Suddenly, all of the alarms on the base went off, flashing red warning lights. Tom grabbed Tord instinctively. "Tom," Tord looked at him. "I have to go figure out what's going on." 

Tom reluctantly let go and followed Tord. They heard a bunch of yelling and screaming and ran in that direction. When they rounded the corner, into a dark alley, nothing could have prepared them for the sight they saw: 

"Herregud." (lord God)

"Holy beets in a brothel!" 

....It was Matt. Except, he was a vampire. And hanging from his mouth, which was dripping blood, was one of Tord's soldiers. 

"Oh hell. I can't believe I forgot about that," Tom said.

Tord turned to him. "WHAT? You mean you knew about this?"

"I...yeah kind of? I mean I knew he turned into a vampire before? Like when you were gone."

"Fy faen." (basically, "fucking hell")

Matt dropped the soldier and approached the two. Tom thought quickly. "Uh, what kills vampires again?" 

"Wooden stakes. Do you see any wooden stakes around here?" 

"Uh. No. WAIT!" He suddenly ran in the other direction. 

"Oh. This is nice," Tord said sarcastically, as he stood alone with no Tom to protect him. 

"You never loved me, Tord," Matt said as he approached. Blood dripped from his mouth as he spoke. "I tried to do everything to make you love me. You just lied to me. About everything. Edd was right. I never should have trusted you." Matt looked Tord right in the eyes and...there was something in his eyes that held Tord to the spot. He couldn't move. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stare into those eyes forever...

"ENOUGH TALK, MORE KILLING!" Tom said as he jumped in front of Matt with a jagged piece of wood he had taken from a fence. 

Tord shook himself out of his daze once Matt's gaze was removed from him. "What the..." What had just happened?!

Matt screeched and narrowly avoided the wooden stake. He then unfurled his black wings and flew at Tom, and Tom's eyes went white momentarily. Matt landed on Tom and was about to sink his teeth into his neck, when Tord yelled out, "Hey Matt!"

Matt, who obviously still had feelings for Tord, turned around. And that was enough time for Tom to shake himself free and run to grab the wooden stake that had fallen. 

He rushed forward and stabbed Matt in the back with it. Matt went still, then turned around with a glare on his face. "I may not be very smart, but at least I know it's the HEART." 

Oh hell. Tom had forgotten that you had to stab a vampire through the HEART with the wooden stake, or it wouldn't kill them. Matt stepped forward with the stake still in his back, then turned back around as if contemplating something. "Tord, you do it." 

"Do what?" 

"Stab me in the heart. Prove you don't love me. Because I...I don't believe it." Tears came to his eyes. "I think what we had was real. When you kissed me in that dungeon I felt something I've never felt before. Please, if you didn't feel that too, then kill me now." 

Tom was disgusted by the mere mention of the kiss and felt his horns starting to pop up again.

This was heartbreaking, even to Tord. For just a moment, he forgot that Tom was even there with them. "Matt, I..." Fuck, there go those eyes again. Matt was looking into his eyes and he couldn't move. He could barely speak. His limbs felt heavy. 

"Tell me you love me, and I can make you immortal. We can live together forever!" 

Now THAT caught Tord's attention. "Immortal?"

But Tom saw where this was going and he quickly intervened. "Nope! No you don't! You are NOT going to trick my Tord into saying that." He pulled Tord away and glared at Matt. "You wanna die? Take that damn stake out of your back and I'LL kill you." He was trying so hard not to turn. Because even if he turned, it would do no good in this situation. He could rip Matt apart in monster form and still not kill him. Because only a wooden stake could do that. And in monster form, handling a wooden stake would be cumbersome, if not impossible. 

Matt shook his head. "I want Tord to do it." Matt's eyes glowed a deep red, and Tord's head snapped forward, his gaze once again transfixed on Matt's face. "I love you Tord. Come to me." 

And Tord walked forward, hardly knowing what he was doing or why. He couldn't think. There was no rational thought or motive. Tom tried to pull him back. "Tord, what are you doing?" he gasped.

Matt flicked his wrist towards himself and Tord flew forward and into his arms, instantly going limp. Then Matt wrapped his black cloak around him and flew off into the air, leaving Tom in a state of confusion and horror.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: male pregnancy

Matt flew back to Edd's base with Tord in his arms. He gently laid him down in his own bed, covering him with a warm blanket. He slipped off Tord's black boots so he would be more comfortable. He took a moment to gaze at him. He looked so peaceful. So beautiful. His features relaxed and calm. He wished he could fall asleep next to him like this every night. 

He couldn't resist; He slowly slipped into the bed beside him. Slowly Matt's vampire features faded away and he looked like any normal human. He bit his lip, thought about it, and then put an arm around Tord, careful not to wake him. He sniffed, blinked back tears, and realized he was crying. No, no, he didn't want to cry. He hated crying; he didn't like the way it made him look. And what if Tord woke up to see him crying? What would he think? He held Tord for a few hours, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger in his stomach 

After a while, the door opened. Edd stood in the doorway. His right side was bandaged from where he had been stabbed and he walked with a cane. 

"You brought him?" he strode over to the bed. Matt immediately wrapped his arms tighter around the Norwegian. 

"Y-yes." 

Edd chuckled, but it was without humor. "Look at you. Curling up with him like a stuffed animal. That is our enemy, Matt. Our enemy. Frankly, I should have punished you for your earlier indiscretions. But I chose not to, as I had a use for you." He kicked Tord. Hard. 

Matt gasped. "No!"

Tord yelped and his eyes shot open. He looked around frantically. "What...where am I? I...Edd?" he said, his eyes wide. Okay, so this was not good. Not good at all. What had happened? Wait...he remembered now. He realized Matt was still beside him and he jumped out of the bed like a rabbit. He immediately searched himself for weapons. Nothing. Of course. Matt must have taken his gun. But wait...he did have a knife in his boot. 

He looked down... to find himself in bare feet. 

"Where are my boots?" 

"Is that the first thing you ask when you find yourself here, at my mercy? 'Where are my boots?' I was expecting something, I don't know, a little bit more threatening," Edd said, looking at him with arms crossed. 

Tord glared at him. "When Tom finds out about this I promise your death will be insanely painful."

Edd smiled. "Now that's more like it." He held up Tord's boots. "Were you looking for these?" 

Tord reached out for them.

"Well wait, wait a second. Why did you want them so badly, hmm? Was it because, perhaps, you were hiding something in them?"

Tord shook his head. "No, my feet are cold and I look ridiculous standing here in my bare feet." He gritted his teeth. 

"As ridiculous as you do appear, I doubt that's the only reason." Edd shook out the boots and out fell two knives, a pen gun, and some sort of tiny contraption that looked harmless...but Edd knew better. "You forget how well I know you, Tord. We lived together for years. I know all of your little tricks." He sighed and shook his head, kicking the devices into the corner. 

Tord curled his hands into fists. 

Edd only shook his head again, and brought over a chair to sit in front of Tord. "Sit down. I know you won't attack me without weapons. I could have a bullet in your brain the second you try." 

Tord sat down reluctantly, but not before shooting the meanest, angriest death glare that he possibly could at Matt, who flinched and moved away to stand behind Edd. 

Edd looked down, examining his fingernails, giving the impression that he had all the time in the world. He then looked back at Tord. 

"So, this is how it's going to work. I will let you live...if you agree to become a part of my army. You can thank Matt for giving me this idea. Refuse, and you'll meet a fate much worse than a bullet to the head." Edd grinned, and in that grin Tord could see the insanity behind Edd's eyes. He could see just how far down the rabbit hole he had fallen. It was terrifying. And it wasn't Edd. Not anymore. At least, it wasn't the Edd they used to know. 

"Get on with it, Edd." Tord said, trying not to show his fear. "What is this 'terrible fate?'" he asked as if he could care less. 

Edd looked at Matt, who hung his head and looked away. 

"Mattie here has agreed to this. He was sure that you would rather join me than accept this fate...however, I'm not so sure."

"Just say it Edd."

"If you do not join me, the only thing Matt will be able to feed on, is you." Edd grinned. "I will lock you both in the dungeon alone. And what becomes of you after, well," he spread his arms out. "Frankly I don't care."

Matt looked really hurt by Edd's words. Tord wasn't even sure that he was hearing this right.

He said the first thing that came to mind, even though he already knew the answer. "Are you insane?"

Edd laughed. "Yes. Yes I am. You took everything from me, Tord." He leaned forward until his face was inches from Tord's and Matt whimpered. "Do you know what happened to my wife?"

Tord narrowed his eyes. "Do I care?"

"She's dead." 

Tord remembered how Tom had thrown Edd's wife, Elizabeth, and they hadn't been sure if she had survived. 

Tord smiled in Edd's face. "Good." 

Edd roared and punched Tord hard in the face. Tord almost fell back on the bed, his hands coming up to cover his bloody nose. 

Matt raced forward. "No, no please don't hurt him!" 

Edd stood over him, shoulders heaving. 

"Is that all you got?" Tord said. 

Edd punched him again, this time sending him flying back onto the bed. Tord's head spun. 

"Tord, please...please just say you'll join Edd's army and all of this will be over! Please!" Matt cried, holding Tord's head in his hands. "please Tord." 

Tord laughed bitterly. "I'd rather die." 

"Then you will." Edd hauled Tord off the bed, and dragged him down the hallway roughly, Matt following. 

Matt begged and pleaded with the both of them as they walked, in sheer terror. If Tord didn't join the army, Matt would be forced to kill him! He couldn't let that happen! But what if he turned into vampire form right now? No, no that wouldn't work because Edd always carried a wooden stake and a cross. It was his way of keeping him under control. Surely there had to be a better way! 

Well...maybe, he realized with a sinking heart...maybe there was...

Edd threw Tord into the dungeon, and quickly handcuffed him to the wall. Tord tried to fight back with one hand free, his robot arm, but Edd punched him again, and again. Tord's nose was bleeding profusely by now and he had a black eye but he still tried to fight back, grabbing Edd's arm and trying to twist it behind his back. "Matt run!" 

Matt stood still, unsure what to do. In that moment of hesitation, Edd managed to get Tord's other hand cuffed to the wall. 

Then Edd turned on Matt. Matt tried to run then, but he grabbed him by the collar and threw him in too. 

"Wait, wait!" Matt gasped. "Wait Edd. I wont do this. I won’t let you do this. Kill me. Just kill me!" 

Edd looked at him with surprise for a moment before shaking his head. 

"That was not in the deal." 

"WHAT IF I TURN???" Matt was almost hysterical now.

"Then you turn. You aren't going to hurt me. I'll have no reason to kill you." Edd looked bored. 

"I will! I will kill you!" Matt said, his hands balled into fists, and his eyes began to glow red.

"Sure Matt." Edd crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Matt was in his vampire form now and he grabbed Edd and threw him into the wall. He tried to stare into his eyes, to control him like he had Tord, but Edd had spent so much time with Matt by now that he was basically immune to it. In fact, looking into Edd's eyes had the opposite effect of what Matt had hoped for. In Edd's brown eyes he could see the person he once was...the person he had loved...before everything went to hell. Matt tried to focus his gaze downward, onto Edd's neck, but Edd didn't even flinch. Why wasn't he scared? Why didn't he try to move away? He looked back into Edd's eyes and saw him staring at him with a blank look. It was almost as if there was nothing behind those eyes anymore. Those eyes, that held just a small tint of amber gold, that used to be so soft and loving...they were cold and dead. 

Matt pulled away. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't. "Edd please just stake me."

"No. Goodbye Matt. Goodbye, Red Leader." Edd said the last words condescendingly, threw Matt inside the dungeon and barred the door. "Sleep tight, don't let the vampires bite!" He walked away, his laughter echoing off the cold stone walls. 

Matt stared at the door of the dungeon when it closed. He couldn't believe it. This was all his fault. All he had wanted was to be with Tord. But now...

He turned around. 

Tord was chained to the grey wall behind him with an expression on his face that Matt could not quite read. It was a mixture of many emotions: fear, anger, worry. Most of all, Tord thought of Tom. How he must be feeling. What if they never saw each other again? "We will," Tord told himself, "He got me out of this mess last time, and he'll do it again." The question was, how long did they have? 

He looked at Matt. "How long do we have?"

"W-what do you mean?"

Tord closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if willing himself to show just a little bit of patience toward the ginger haired man, even though all he wanted to do was scream at him. "Until you need to feed. How long do we have?" 

Matt bit his lip. "Um, not-not very long. I haven't fed properly in over a week..."

"How long is not long?"

"Well, the longest I've ever resisted a feeding was 6 days."

"So we don’t have much time." 

"Yeah"

Tord nodded, and now his expression was more one of resignation. Resignation to the fact that it was very possible that within a days’ time he would be dead. Feeding was different than turning someone. During feeding it would become impossible to resist going "all out" so to speak. Once Matt dug in, there was no telling when he would stop, if he was that hungry. He wouldn't be able to stop until he had drained Tord dry. But then Tord thought of something. 

"If you bite me now, can't you turn me, before the hunger gets worse? It's better than being eaten alive. And like you said, I would be immortal." 

Matt already looked like he was holding back a little. "I don't trust myself not to kill you. Edd did this on purpose. He purposely starved me so that I would kill you. He said he just didn't have any animals to give me...he was lying, wasn't he?"

Tord nodded. 

Wow, poor Matt. He was just now truly beginning to see the extent of Edd's madness and disregard for him. 

"And even if I turned you, Edd would kill you right away. He has a stake."

"I'm not that easy to kill, Matt. I think I'd have some chance." 

"I...I'm really hungry." Matt sat in the corner away from Tord, as if somehow that would stop himself from biting him. He pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face partially in his uniform. After a while, Tord noticed his body shaking.

"What- um, are you okay?" he asked. 

Matt shook his head and continued to shake. 

Tord was scared now. Really scared. He didn't want to die. He wanted to be with Tom. There were so many things he had wanted to do with his life...

And there was another thing. Something he had been hiding from everyone, even Tom. 

He was pregnant. 

When he first started experiencing strange symptoms he had gone to the doctor and they had performed a large series of tests before determining there could only be one other explanation, but it was very unlikely. 

Tord asked what it was, and they told him it was pregnancy. 

Tord had laughed it off, thinking surely it was a joke. There was no way that he could be pregnant. He was a man, first of all, and he had an entire army to run. Where would he have the time for children?

But when they did the ultrasound and he saw that there was indeed a child inside him, everything changed. Apparently this was one very unexpected side effect of having sex with a half-monster. 

He wasn't very far along, a little more than 3 months pregnant. He had planned on telling Tom that night, before he had been taken by Matt. 

"Matt there's something I need to tell you," Tord said softly. 

"Yes?" he didn't lift his head up. 

Tord let out a deep sigh. "I'm pregnant."

Matt's head flew up. "WHAT? IS IT MINE?"

"Uh...no."

"ARE YOU SURE?"

"Matt we didn't have sex..."

"BUT WHAT IF IT'S MINE?"

"Well, it's not pos-"

Matt flew over to Tord and held his tummy. "I'll protect you, little one," he said. Tord gasped in surprise when he felt the baby kick for the first time. It sent a strange feeling through him that he couldn't describe. Matt laughed. "Oh I feel him! He loves me!" He stroked Tord's stomach.

Tord decided there was no use in trying to explain things to Matt. It was pointless. But he knew one thing. He had to protect this baby.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story. Alternate ending kinda thing. I am going to just go ahead and say that this might actually be the saddest thing I have ever written. It's one of them at least. I'm going to have to write a ton of fluff to make up for this, good god. Also I had this written for almost 2 months and didn't post it because I didn't know if anyone would like it but I finally just said to heck with it and here you go.)

(Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story. Alternate ending kinda thing.). 

Matt began to shake again, and Tord nudged him off. He really hoped Matt could control himself a little longer. But it didn't look like it. Matt got up from the floor, one hand braced against the wall. He looked like he was about to be sick. The effort it took to control himself was becoming too much. There was an intense hunger that permeated his entire being. It wasn't just in his stomach; it was in his joints, his head, his mind, his entire body. 

"T-Tord, I don't want to kill you," Matt said in a shaking voice full of despair. "I love you." His blue-green eyes began to fill with tears and he clutched at his stomach almost falling down with a hunger pang. 

"You have to control it, Matt. Tom will be here soon and he'll get us out of here."

"I can't wait! I can't wait!" he practically screamed, clutching his sides. His vampire fangs popped out. "PLEASE! Please stop!" he begged his own body. "STOP IT!" 

Tord watched him, trying to quell his own fear that welled up in his chest. He held onto his stomach protectively. The baby kicked him hard and he winced. "Ow, stop it," he told the child in his stomach. 

"Oh god Tord oh god oh god what about the baby? Oh god...." Matt whined, trying his hardest to control himself. He fell to his knees and rocked back and forth. 

Tord said a silent prayer in his head, hoping that Tom would get there soon. Because if not...

Matt suddenly stood up, shaking slightly. But the look on his face was different now. It was pure blood lust. As if his senses had finally taken over his mind. He could control it no longer. Tord saw this look and he knew he was done for. He knew it was all over.

"Matt, please!" he squeaked out, in pure terror. He tried to melt into the wall, but he couldn't get away; he was chained to the wall. He pulled his knees up to his chest. "Matt, I'm pregnant. Think about this. Just think. For one second just think. Please." 

Matt lunged. Tord screamed and tried to hide his neck, pulling up his shoulder, knowing that was where Matt would strike. But Matt's fangs quickly found their mark anyway, and with his hands chained, Tord could do nothing to stop it. 

He felt the sharp fangs sink into his soft flesh like large needles. They sank deeper and deeper. Tord's first thought was "Oh my god how long are they?" and his next thought "I can’t die! I can’t die!" was interrupted by the intense pain that he could only describe as excruciating as his flesh was ripped away. Matt made loud noises as he embedded his mouth onto Tord's neck, sucking him dry. Warm blood ran down Matts lips and cheeks, and all over Tord's blue coat. Tord screamed and screamed, squirming around, his legs kicking. "MATT!" He yelled. "PLEASE!" but soon he could not even form words. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks. After a while, the Norski felt himself getting weaker as he was drained of blood. His futile struggles got less and less. The kicks stopped. He felt every part of him almost wilting, like a dying flower. His head and limbs felt heavy. The pain remained, but it became a dull ache. "I...c-c-c-m-Matt..." his head spun. "T-Tom...I n-need- p-please..." He wasn't even sure what he was trying to say. Something about Tom, something about the baby. Something about how he couldn't feel his legs. 

His face was deathly pale now. Matt kept his teeth where they were, until he had gotten his fill, and then drew back, his face holding a look of pure ecstasy. He licked his lips. 

"Mmmm..." He looked as though he was in another world. 

Tord looked at him, tried to lift his head to see him better, and croaked out "...I..mmm s-sorry," before his whole body slumped forward onto the floor, his head hitting the concrete with a sickeningly hard crack. 

The sound seemed to jolt Matt back to his senses. He jumped as if someone had hit him with an electric shock. Then he saw the body. Every part of him seemed to scream at once. A horrible, horrible fear rose up in his chest and a low groan of agony escaped from his mouth. "Nooooooo...oh god...no. No no no no no! Noooooo!" He went to his knees beside Tord's body. He picked him up in his arms. Tord's head lolled back lifelessly. His lips were blue. His dark blue coat was drenched in his own blood. Matt was drenched in blood. It was warm, so warm...such a contrast to Matt's cool skin, the feel of the undead. And yet Tord's body was now cooling as well. Matt could feel it as it slowly got colder, as all of Tord's life force drained away. Matt cried, heavy tears falling upon Tord's cheeks. Matt could feel Tord's fading heartbeat. He could hear it. It was trying so hard to keep him alive. "Pleeeeasssssssee" Matt moaned. "Pleasseee...." 

Matt heard the very moment that the Red Leaders' heart stopped beating. One second it was there, the next...it was gone. He listened intently, hoping to hear it again. But no. It would never beat again. But there was another heartbeat, he realized with a both a sense of hope and horror: Tord's child. The child that Matt (who apparently didn't understand how pregnancy works) thought could be his. "Baby...baby wait don't go..." Matt whimpered. He pressed his ear to Tord's stomach. "Wait please don't leave me baby. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." 

But there was no way for the child to live without its parent. And soon the child's heartbeat stopped as well. 

He had killed the man he loved. And the child inside him.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story. Tord and the baby are alive.)

(Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story. Tord and the baby are alive.) 

Matt continued to gush over the baby, which somehow seemed to take his mind off of how hungry he was, at least for the time being. That one soldier he had drank from hadn’t done much for his appetite unfortunately. 

Tord let him gush, and actually smiled a little seeing how excited Matt was. It made him excited too. He closed his eyes as Matt cooed silly things to the baby while rubbing Tord’s tummy and allowed himself to imagine what it would be like when the baby was born. Tom would be so happy. He would hold out his hands speechlessly asking to hold the baby. In Tords mind it was a little boy. Tom wouldn’t be able to contain his joy at seeing the baby and as soon as the newborn entered his arms he would stop crying and look up at him inquisitively. He would have Toms eyes, those beautiful mysterious black orbs that set him apart from the others, and Tords hair, a strawberry blond. Tom and the baby would stare at each other and Tord would laugh and make some joke about the two sharing a telepathic connection through those eyes. And heck, they probably would. Tord was probably in trouble if those two ever decided to gang up. 

The babys name would be Terence, he had decided. Terence for a boy and Tami for a girl. God what if he had twins? 

There was a low rumbling sound suddenly, and the walls of the cell began to shake. Were they having an earthquake? Matt clung to Tord looking terrified as the stone walls began to give way and crumble to the ground. A large piece of rock narrowly missed hitting Matt and he squeaked, burying his head in Tords coat. But then he realized he needed to protect the baby first and that Tord wasn’t able to move so he took off his own coat and draped it around Tord’s head. Then he covered him the best he could. "Whats happening?" Tord wondered, peeking out from under the coat. 

"I’m not sure..." Matt mumbled in fear. 

A bunch of yelling and gunshots could be heard outside. 

The next thing they knew, the far wall had been knocked down with a loud crash and monster Tom stood there, in full form, fists clenched. "Tom!" Tord cried. Matt screamed and ran to the corner to hide. 

The monster lumbered over to Tord, his expression of anger changing to one of concern. "Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No. I’m fine. Just unchain me," Tord said quickly. Tom looked at the chains for a moment contemplating how to do that, then just grabbed them and broke them in half. Tord stood up and ran to Tom, grabbing his leg and hugging it. Tom pat Tord’s back gently and then picked him up and held him in his hands as carefully as he could. 

He then walked to Matt, each step echoing. 

He raised his foot to stomp on him as though he were a bug but Tord stopped him. "Tom. He’s learned his lesson. Let him be." 

"We thought that last time didn’t we?" Tom said, not willing to listen this time.

He raised his foot again but before he could stomp, a gunshot rang out. 

\----------

Tom gasped. He had been shot in the back. He dropped Tord. Tord tumbled from his arms but quickly scrambled up, his thoughts not of himself but of Tom. Before he could tend to the wound, Tom had turned around and ran at the soldiers. They kept shooting as Tord watched in complete horror. He was frozen in shock. His feet brought him forward, in some insane attempt to use his own human body as a shield for Tom, but Tom wasn’t having it. He roared and threw Tord behind him. "I am fine" he said. "When I turn back it will be like nothing happened." 

So Tord watched as Tom picked off each of the soldiers. Edd was nowhere to be found. "Come." Tom held out his hand and Tord climbed into it. And slowly they walked back home. 

\------------

Sure enough when Tom turned back to his human form there was not one wound on his body. Tord looked him over thoroughly and was amazed. "I had forgotten just how powerful that serum was..." he murmured. "For once are you actually glad to be what you are?" 

Tom nodded. He was curled up in bed and his purple tail twitched back and forth. It was usually the last to go and was quite stubborn. It wrapped itself around Tord’s waist and pulled him down onto the bed. Tords eyes slowly closed and Tom spooned him, wrapping an arm around him and holding him tight. As his hands slowly caressed Tord’s stomach he noticed a difference. "Hmm.." he murmured. Either Tord had gained a considerable amount of weight or ... "Tord?"

"Yes?"

"Your stomach. It feels... well... bigger. Have you been eating a lot lately?" He joked. 

Tord went still. "I need to tell you something."

"Holy cotton in a cannon...are you...?"

"I’m pregnant."

"Holy fishsticks in a furnace."

"Are you done?"

"Holy cats in a cocoon"

Tord sighed and turned around. "Are you upset?"

"Upset? Tord this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me! I’m gonna be a father!" 

"Then shut up and kiss me."

Tom kissed him hard and lovingly.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story.)

(Announcement: This is a split-off chapter. I repeat, this is a split -off chapter. Basically one of several scenes I have in mind for this story.) 

There was suddenly screaming and yelling outside. Tord looked at Matt. One of the voices was Edds. And the other...  
"TOM?" Tord tried to stand up, almost forgetting he was chained, and fell back down. There was a loud roar.  
Monster Tom lumbered toward Edd, having crushed several soldiers standing between them under his feet. "Edd."  
Edd looked up at Tom, remembering what had happened during the last confrontation. He was afraid but he wouldn’t show his fear.   
"Tom. I was wondering when you would come find your little loverboy. Unfortunately, you’re too late. He's dead."   
It was obviously a lie, but Tom had no way of knowing that. Edd delighted in the way his words changed the expression on Tom’s face. His one eye went momentarily white. And his expression went from anger and resolve to... terror and disbelief.   
"No. No. No. He can’t be dead. He can’t be," Tom stammered out. He wrung his claws together. "You’re lying to me. Show me Tord. Now."  
"Do you really want to see him? He’s quite a sight. After Matt sucked him dry I burned his body. No reason to take up good burial space." Edd smirked.  
Toms horror increased, and he felt tears well up in his eye. They fell like black goo. "No. No. God please. Not Tord...."  
The monsters body trembled. He looked at the ground and wiped his eyes, then suddenly looked up again and directly at Edd. A fire burned in his black eye. "You will pay for this." He lunged at Edd, tackling him to the floor. Edd barely had time to make a sound before Toms teeth clenched down on his arm. Edd roared in pain and tried to shake him off but Tom was too strong. "You sick son of a bitch I'm going to make you regret this!"   
"Wait! Wait! He’s not dead. I lied!" Edd cried. Tom blinked his eye.   
"What?"  
"He’s still alive. That is, if Matt hasn’t attacked him yet. He’s locked in the dungeon with him.”   
"Give me the key."  
Edd, gasping in pain, gave the key to Tom, and Tom threw the dark haired man to the ground.   
Tom ran to the dungeons. After a moment of fumbling with the key in his big claws, he cursed and threw the key down. Taking one huge fist, he punched the door down and went through it.  
Tord was lying against the wall. With Matts teeth imbedded in his neck.   
Toms eyes went white again and he roared and charged at Matt, whos eyes widened. He tried to pull his fangs out of Tord, but they were stuck. He panicked and pushed and pulled but they wouldn’t come out. Tom slammed into them, much harder than he had intended, and both Tord and Matt’s heads hit the wall. Both were knocked out instantly. Tom, freaking out, finally managed to pull Matt off.   
Tord’s neck bled and the two bite marks could clearly be seen. "Tord. Wake up. Wake the fuck up!" Tom shook the unconscious man, only succeeding in making his head flop back and forth. "Oh, in the name of Jehovah..." he said with exasperation. "You better not be dead and you better not be a fuckin vampire now or I swear to ..." He stopped mid-sentence. He sniffed once. Sniffed again. His eye narrowed in confusion. There was another scent. The scent of a human. Strong. It wasn’t Matt. It wasn’t Tord. What was it?

He leaned over Tord and sniffed again. He then drew back as the scent overwhelmed him. How could Tord have two different scents? And it wasn’t just any scent...it was the scent of a child. Tom knew the difference by now. He looked at Tords belly. With his coat off it was easier to see that it was more rounded than usual. He placed a trembling claw gently on his leaders stomach.  
"ACH!" he recoiled as the baby kicked him. The purple monster stared at it in pure amazement, his eyes going white for possibly the 3rd time that day. "He’s pregnant. Hes fuckin pregnant! That bastard didn’t even tell me! He could have died and I wouldn’t even... I need to get you home. Come on," he said to the limp man before him. At least he was breathing. He could sense that as well, and it gave him comfort.

Tom cast a glance at the ginger man. He seemed to be alive. Well, as alive as an undead vampire could be. Seeing no wooden stake around with which to end him, he decided to just leave. 

As Tom carried his lover home cradled in his claws, he focused all his senses on listening to Tords heartbeat and breathing. By the time he got him back to the base, that alone had calmed him to the point where he was changing back to human form. Now all that remained was his little horns and his long tail. He lay Tord on the bed. "You idiot," he said as he gazed at his form. "If you end up being a vampire I get first dibs on staking your ass." He shook his head and sighed, suddenly feeling really tired. He kissed Tord’s forehead lovingly and cuddled him, soon falling asleep.   
He woke up suddenly at around 2 in the morning. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what. But it was too still. Something was off. He felt a sense of terror. What could it be? His head was laying on Tord’s chest. That’s when he realized the problem.   
Tord’s heart wasn’t beating.   
Tom flew into a panic. "Tord! Tord!" He felt his cheeks. They were cold. He checked his pulse again. Surely he was mistaken.  
No pulse.  
Tom ran to turn on the lamp light and straddled Tord preparing to do CPR. But the moment he breathed into Tords mouth Tord woke up. He coughed. "Uh, Tom? What are you doing?" He said with confusion.  
Tom gasped with relief and took Tord’s face in his hands. "You're alive! But how... you have no pul-"   
Tord raised his eyebrows. Tom was slowly 'getting it'.   
"You have no pulse. But you’re alive. You’re...you’re...you’re a vampire?"  
Tord bit his lip and nodded slowly. While they had been asleep, the full transformation had taken place, which was why Tords heart no longer beat.   
"Holy snakes in a Snapple bottle. Did you let him bite you?"  
"No. He couldn’t control himself. Honestly if you hadn’t gotten there when you did, he probably would have drained me dry."  
"What does this mean for us? Now that you're... this...undead thing."  
Tord laughed. "Only that I get to live forever! Nothing will change! Nothing much changed when you turned into a monster right? I still love you." He pinched Toms cheek. The Brit blushed furiously.   
"Yeah yeah well it’s your fault I am a monster anyway."  
"Oh shut up and stop complaining." Tord smiled.   
"God dammit I thought you were dead." Tom wrung his hands, looking at Tord. God, what if he had never seen that sweet smile again? Tom flung himself at Tord and kissed him hard. 

When they pulled back, Tom looked into Tords eyes. "I know there’s something you’ve been hiding from me."

Tord looked down. "Uh yeah..."

"Why?"

"I guess I was just waiting for the right time to tell you."

Tom placed his hand on Tord’s stomach and rubbed it gently. "I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe this is happening. We're going to be parents."

"We're going to be the best parents ever to this little...uh, half vampire half monster."

Tom chuckled. "We definitely are going to have our hands full."


	17. Chapter Seventeen

(This is no longer a split off chapter. This is a continuation of Tord being pregnant.)

Time passed, and Tord’s stomach grew larger. It got to the point where he could barely move and basically had to lay in bed all day, much to his frustration. As it turned out, he was carrying twins. A boy and a girl. Tom waited on Tord hand and foot, taking care of his every need. He wouldn’t let Tord do anything by himself despite his protests. Every day Tom brought him his meals in bed. Pau and Pat came by every day to deliver a report and let him know if anything of importance was going on. 

On the morning of November 15, there was a knock on the door. Tom opened it. It was Pau and Pat. "There’s an emergency," Pat explained. Tom let him in. 

"Red Leader, a bomb threat has just come in. We need your permission to evacuate the premises." 

Tord sat up in bed and groaned. "Yes, evacuate everyone immediately. Do we know who made the threat?"

"He called himself 'The Green Vengeance'."

Tord groaned and would have actually laughed if the situation hadn’t been so serious.

"Oh my god he is an idiot. It's got to be Green Leader. Go ahead and evacuate everyone to Camp Red." 

Tom immediately started packing bags for him and Tord. He was worried because Tord was due to give birth any day now. This added stress couldn’t be good for the babies. He took Tords arms to help him out of bed. Tord got up and they headed toward the door. 

That was when an alarm started going off and the door slammed shut in their faces. Pat was knocked on his ass and Pau snickered. 

"What idiot shut the door?" Tord wondered. He tried to open it. It wouldn’t budge. Tom tried as well. 

"Someone locked us in. This was an inside job," Tom realized. 

"There’s a secret tunnel under our bed," Tord told them. Tom looked at him like he was crazy. 

"What?!" 

"Are you really surprised?" Tord asked with raised eyebrows.

Tom thought about it. "No not really." 

Pau and Pat moved the bed so they could access the space. Sure enough, there was a door with a hatch and when they pulled it open, it led to a dark tunnel. 

"I’m not going down there," Tom stated.

"You will if you want to live," Pat told him in no uncertain terms. "There’s no other way out of here."

Tom sighed. "Let’s make this quick then. Whos going first?"

"I will," Tord said starting forward

"No you will not," Tom said, getting in his way 

Tord crossed his arms over his chest. "Thomas. Are you forgetting who I am? Just because Im pregnant doesn’t mean I..."

There was a loud explosion outside and the sound of yelling. 

"We don’t have time for arguments," Pat said. "I’ll do it." He dropped down into the tunnel carefully , landing on his feet. He shone a flashlight around. "It’s not too bad." He held out his arms to help Pau down, then Tom, then Tord. Tord took the flashlight and led them through the tunnel, Tom closely behind him, holding onto the back of his coat as though he were afraid he might lose him. 

Within five minutes, they arrived at the back entrance of the base. Pat popped his head out and looked around. "All clear."

The back of the base seemed deserted as they climbed out. And it was eerily quiet. Too quiet.

"Something’s not right," Tord whispered. It was then that he heard it thru the stillness. The soft 'tick tick tick' of a bomb. He glanced to his right. There, attached to a tree, was the bomb. Its timer read 2:50. That was all the time they had to get out of there. 

"Tom. Run. Run as fast as you can," Tord ordered.

"I’m not leaving without you."

"I cant climb that fence," Tord said. Fear crept into his voice. 

"Then I'll drag you over the fuckin thing. Or break it down. Come on."

They all ran toward the fence and Pau and Pat climbed over it. Tord told them to run and not stop. They looked at him. "Sir, we aren’t leaving you."

"Leave! Get out! I’ll be fine! Just go!" Tord screamed at them. 

Tom started to climb the fence and grabbed Tord’s hand. Tord tried his best to climb it, putting one foot after the other, an expression of worry on his face. His large stomach was making it almost impossible to keep his balance and he had never been good at climbing fences anyway. 

Tom tried to stay calm even though inside he wanted to scream. The 'tick tick tick' of the bomb was maddening and he suspected that sound was going to stay with him for a long time. 

He knew he had to transform and knock the fence over at his point if Tord was going to make it, but did he have time?

It was then that Tord cried out in pain, clutched his stomach and fell to the floor. "Ah...ah... helvete..." He looked up at Tom helplessly. "The babies are coming." 

Tom hopped down from the fence. He surveyed the situation. The timer read 1:00. He summoned all his rage, all his anger against Edd and Matt, all his anger at feeling so helpless, and sure enough, before he knew it, he was in his monster form. It took one hard kick for the hulking giant to knock down the fence. He grabbed Tord and just ran, Tords screams of pain and terror echoing in his ears. The sound was amplified times 10 when he was in this form and it made him panic even more. He felt his heart beating frantically in his chest. Would they make it? 

Behind him he heard the explosion. He could feel the heat on his back. He closed his eyes and braced himself as he was blown 10 feet away. He flew into the air and landed hard in the cold dirt. He felt Tord squirm in his arms. "Tord...I..I love you," he gasped out. And then there was blackness. 

When he woke up, he was in human form again. Pau and Pat were standing there, and in each of their arms they held a tiny baby. One little girl with Tords grey eyes and Toms dark blond hair, and a little boy with Toms black eyes and Tords strawberry blond hair. Tom got up shakily, a smile spreading across his face. "We made it. We made it!" He held out his hands to take the babies. But Pat and Paus expressions only got darker and they seemed to hesitate and pull back.   
"What’s wrong?" Tom asked them in confusion. "Tord? Baby we made it! Baby?" The last thing he knew, Tord had been in his arms.   
Tom looked around, and his heart sank. His mouth opened and a sound came out that could only be described as pure horror. There, lying in a bloodied heap in the dirt, was Tord.   
"When you fell, you crushed him," Pau said. "You’re a monster. We are taking the babies and you’ll never see them again."  
Tom screamed.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

...And continued to scream until he woke up in bed, thrashing around like a mad man. "Tord! Tord!"   
He opened his eyes and a blurry vision of a man with hair horns came into view.   
"You’re awake." Tord smiled. "It's been a few hours...I was worried."   
"Tord, you’re alive..."  
"Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? And I have a surprise for you."

Pau and Pat, beaming, carried the twins over to them and placed them in Toms arms.   
Tom was overcome with love. He gazed into the eyes of his babies and started to cry. Terence, the black eyed little boy, stared up at Tom and it was as though Tom was seeing himself as a child again. Those eyes, they already held so much. He could tell Terence was an old soul. Terence had small purple horns on top of his head and a tiny tail. Tami, her grey eyes shining, was smiling at Tom and babbling something, while Terence stayed silent. Tami’s horns were red and so was her tail. Tom noticed they each had long, sharp canine teeth. Tord sat beside Tom and rubbed his back.   
Tom looked at him. "Are you ok? There were no complications?"  
Tord nodded. "No problems at all. It hurt like the devil though. I never want to do that again."  
"Sorry," Tom said.  
"Don't be." Tord smiled and gazed at the children. "Aren't they beautiful? And they are all ours."  
"I made that?" Tom asked, almost in awe.  
The statement was so silly that Tord and his soldiers laughed and even Tom had to laugh at himself.   
"Yes, you made that," Tord replied. "With my help of course."  
"Tord, I'm in love."  
"So am I."   
Tord gently placed his hand on Toms chin and turned his head, kissing him passionately. 

~The End~


End file.
